Ascension to the Throne
by Elizabeth Bathory
Summary: After the tragic demise of his parents, Tony Stark is left to pick up the pieces of what was left behind and to continue on after the funeral. Can a seventeen year old handle this? Watch and see how the boy who was left behind became the man we know.
1. Chapter 1

Ascension to the Throne

Ascension to the Throne

By Elizabeth Bathory

It was a brilliantly sunny day in southern California as hundreds of mourners dressed in black filed into the church. Among the crowd were CEOs, heads of state, business people, socialites and even a celebrity or two. Anyone passing by this funeral would know it was for someone high up there in society. Limos and other high priced cars drove up and past for the better part of two hours. The service was scheduled to start at eleven in the morning and the hour was fast approaching and many were starting to whisper. Where were all the family members to remember those who were in the two coffins at the front of the church?

Many people had noted that Obadiah Stane was seated right in the front row, a place of honor. But one person whose face was plastered on as many magazines as his father was distinctly absent. Where was their son?

At a few minutes before eleven, one last limo pulled up and a seventeen year old boy, flanked by three body guards, stepped out. The prince of Stark Industries was in a very expensive black suit and was wearing possibly the darkest sunglasses he could find. As he walked down the aisle of the church, he could hear the whispers as he walked by. The sounds of 'poor thing' and 'how sad' were intermingled with remarks of his genius and recent graduation with a Masters' in electrical engineering from MIT and he heard every word, though he pretended not to notice.

He took his seat in the front row as Obadiah whispered to take off his sunglasses. It could be seen, even from the back, the seventeen year old had refused. When he was told a second time, presumably with a little more force from the man who was his father's business partner, he acquiesced. Only those who were facing Anthony Stark could see his bloodshot eyes.

Lord knows that this week had to be hard on the kid; starting off with having to identify his parents in a hospital with lawyers to back him up since he was still a few more weeks away from his eighteenth birthday and then having to have services in New York before flying back to California for another wake and the grand funeral and burial. No seventeen year old should have to do this alone and be forced to step away from childhood so abruptly.

Once the young Mr. Stark was seated, the priest began his service. "We are gathered here today to bid farewell to Howard and Maria Stark. These two fine people were taken from us far too soon and from their son, Anthony. When such a tragedy falls upon us, we find ourselves asking the question why? Why did this have to happen to two people who were in the prime of their life? Why did this come to a loving couple who had everything? How can we who are left go on with out them? We have no answers to these questions we just must hold together and find away. At the request of their son, it is requested that anyone who would like to say anything about Howard and Maria to come forward."

Tony said in the front row with tears welling in his eyes that he was fighting not to let fall but he was losing. As Obadiah stood up, Tony let out a shuddering breath that he could not hold back as tears rolled down his cheeks.

"There is so much I can say about Howard and Maria." Obadiah started as if he was addressing stock holders rather than mourners. "I was with Howard since the beginning of Stark Industries and helped him to bring it to the company it is today. Not only was he my business partner, but my friend. I am happy to say I was able to share nearly every joy with him as well as some losses. He was unique and will never be replaced. His spirit will always be in the halls of the company that he helped bring rise to and with everything that his company produces."

As Obadiah was sitting down, he gave a nudge to Tony to say something. He hesitated first and wiped the tears away from his eyes before standing up.

"You'll have to forgive me. I'm not very good at this. My father was always better at this sort of thing." Tony said with a shaky voice. "Everyone always thinks of my parents from only the business perspective but they forget that there was another side to them. Despite how many hours my father worked, he always made time to be with my mother and me. I always liked the time that I got to spend with him…working on our hot rod, going to Yankee games and building many of the robots that are in Stark Industries. My mother always tried to keep me grounded and that is hard when you're an eleven year old in MIT. She gave me piano lessons and tried to get me to appreciate things beyond machines and electronics. I am glad that they got to see me graduate but they weren't there long enough to help me celebrate it. All I can do now is hope that I made them proud and I can live up to the legacy that they laid down."

The room was all hushed as they listened to the boy speak as tears rolled down his cheeks. After that, who could say more?

The processional then started to the cemetery. Tony walked just behind the two caskets, with his body guards behind him and then Obadiah followed. With his sunglasses back on, Tony watched as the two caskets were put into the hearses and then he slid into the back seat of his limo alone, giving a silent gesture to the driver that he was ready.

The long and winding roads from the church to the cemetery seemed never ending. Tony did not want to have to say goodbye but he did not want to have to go through this any longer than he needed to. At the gravesite, he could not hear the words said. Tony was lost in his own grief at the moment, a grief that had to be played out for three days straight on the front of every newspaper across the country and beyond. He just wanted to be left alone and in peace but he knew well enough that it was not bound to happen.

After the funeral, Obadiah had arranged, much to Tony's displeasure, a reception at the Stark mansion in Beverly Hills. Hundreds of people milled about, offering Tony empty condolences and using the reception to start glad handing.

Tony sat alone, away from all the people there. He had found a spot on a window seat overlooking the estate and actually tried to hide from everyone. Only one person noticed him, the family's butler Edwin. He looked sadly at his young master. Tony had already taken off the jacket and gotten rid of the tie as quick as most seventeen year olds would. He had ditched the expensive dress shoes for sneakers and was now trying to be as small as possible to avoid unwanted attention.

"Sir, can I get you anything?" he asked the boy gently, breaking Tony out of his revelry.

"I am a little hungry." He admitted as he looked around at the spread. "Is there anything normal here? Half of this stuff I can't even pronounce."

Edwin made a quick glance at the food and saw that there was really nothing suited to the seventeen year old's taste that tended to prefer pizza and cheeseburgers. "I'll see what I can do, sir." He said with a smile.

"Edwin, wait." Tony called out. "Make sure everyone else is okay. There's a whole lot more of them than me and they're more important."

"As you wish, sir. But if I may say, you are the most important one here." Edwin replied before ducking into the kitchen to find the last few slices of pizza that his young master had not finished off the night before.

As Tony was finishing the last of three slices, Obadiah finally found his hiding spot. "Tony, you really need to be social here. I want you out of this spot here and mixing with your guests.

"I really don't want to be social right now, Obie." Tony snapped back. "You didn't ask me about all of this. You just went ahead and did it. I just want all of these people to leave me alone right now."

"Enough of that. I am not going to deal with this spoiled prince routine that your parents dealt with. Get out there and put on a good face." Obadiah said as he pushed Tony off of his seat.

"I already said no. This is my house now and I have a right to say what goes on in it." Tony spat as he right himself.

"Until you are eighteen, everything is held in trust, so you will do as I say, Anthony." Obadiah fired back as he had a hand on Tony's shoulder.

"You are not my father so don't presume that you can tell me what to do." Tony countered as he shoved Obadiah's hand off. "I will be eighteen in two weeks and we'll see what happens then. As far as I'm concerned, this party is over and I'm out of here." He added as he pushed by Obadiah, grabbing his leather jacket and heading down to the garage where he had means of escape.

Obadiah watched from the windows as one very pissed off teenager sped off down the road on a motorcycle. This kid was a live wire and would never grow up. As Edwin came over, Obadiah pulled him aside. "Keep an eye on Tony for me. Keep me informed on how he is doing."

"Yes sir." The butler dutifully answered but was hesitant about betraying the trust of a boy he had known since he was born.


	2. Chapter 2

Two weeks had passed by quickly and Tony was still getting used to waking up in an empty house every day. When he was younger, he would usually at least hear his mother pondering around and his father would always be home at night. Now, the only other voice he heard was his butler's.

Tony lay in bed for a bit, still wishing that this was a dream and his parents would be downstairs to wish him a happy birthday. But at the tears stung at his eyes, he knew that this was one wish that he was not going to get. He crawled out of bed and padded downstairs to the kitchen in a t-shirt, pajama pants and bare feet. He leaned against the door frame of the kitchen for a moment, watching old Edwin out doing himself. The man was obviously trying to make Tony's birthday the best it could be under the circumstances and Tony did appreciate it, deeply.

After a few moments, Tony cleared his throat to alert his butler to his presence and he made the old man jump.

"Good morning, sir and happy birthday." Edwin said with a smile.

"Thanks." Tony said with a small smile as he sat down at the kitchen table. "At least I know you mean it when you say it. Everyone else is sort of fake." He added as he started his breakfast.

"I have always meant what I say to you, sir. I have known you since the day you were brought home. Why would I lie?"

"Because everyone else tried to get things by me because of my age, not realizing that I was about a thousand times smarter than they could ever hope to be."

As Tony was finishing his breakfast and hoping for a day in which he could just whatever he wanted, he was interrupted by another staff member of his parents' who he was still trying to remember their name.

"Good morning, sir and may I wish you a happy eighteenth birthday." The rather professional looking woman stated.

"Thanks…" Tony hesitated, trying to remember her name.

"Mary. Your father's personal secretary and now yours. Would you like to go over your agenda for the day?"

Tony told her to wait for a second as he waved Edwin over. "Do I have any staff that I did not inherit?" he whispered to him.

"No sir, but you are more than welcome to change things if you wish." The butler responded.

"It isn't broke so why fix things right now." Tony sighed as he turned back to the secretary. "I have an agenda?"

"Yes sir. Many things were held off to give you time to adjust and grieve but now that you are of age, certain things need to be dealt with."

"Well then, fire away."

"You have a 10:30 appointment with the attorneys to discuss the provisions of your parents' estate and at some time this week you are invited to take a tour of Stark Industries."

"I already know the buildings." Tony said blatantly. "I have been in those buildings with my father since I could walk. Is there anything else?" he asked, wondering if his whole life was going to be like this.

"No, that is all for now, sir. I will let you know if anything comes up." The secretary stated before excusing herself.

"What would you like to do for your birthday, sir?"

Tony shrugged. His birthday parties were usually just his parents since he had very few friends to speak of. "I really don't know."

"Are there any friends you would like to have here?" Edwin asked in a very concerned tone.

Tony thought about it for a moment and only one person came to mind. "There is one but he may not be around. I met him at MIT but he's in the air force."

"What is his name, sir?"

"Lieutenant James Rhodes, USAF, stationed out of Edwards."

"I will see to it, sir. You best be getting ready. You need to be at the attorney's office in an hour. If I may suggest, dressing professionally may be in the best order of business."

Tony listened to the suggestion and headed back upstairs to take a shower and get dressed. He came back down in a dark blue suit and looked like what the future CEO of Stark Industries should look like. Tony pulled his sunglasses out of his jacket pocket and slipped into the limo that was waiting for him.

At his lawyer's office, Tony was getting a little fidgety, having to wait for everyone to arrive, the attorneys, Obadiah and anyone else who was listed in the will. It was nearly eleven by the time everyone had showed up and Tony was wondering why he had to be there so early when no one else seemed to care.

"Good morning, everyone. We are here to discuss the Last Will and Testament of Howard and Maria Stark. Most of this is pretty straight forward. The entire estate and all of their financial holdings pass to their only son, Anthony, especially that he is now of age. It gets a little more complicated when we get to the business of Stark Industries itself."

"What do you mean by complicated?" Tony asked.

"It was set up in Mr. Stark's will that should he pass on while his son was still under age, the younger Mr. Stark would not take hold of day to day operation until he reached the age of twenty-one."

"So how exactly does this work?" Obadiah asked.

"Mr. Stark has been a share holder in his father's business since the day he was born."

"Yeah, twenty-five percent." Tony interjected.

"Yes and with the recent acquiring of all of his parents' shares, he now controls seventy-six percent of the voting stock. He is the majority stock holder and therefore owner of the company but still too young to oversee the day to day operations. Therefore, Mr. Stane as Chief Financial Officer will still oversee the running of Stark Industries until the day when Mr. Stark here turns twenty-one. At that time, he will become Chief Executive Officer and have all rights pertained within. Mr. Stark believed that this would give his son time to learn how to run the business since he was not able to impart that knowledge on his own."

"So let me make sure I have this right." Tony stated. "I own the company but I can't run it yet. That about it?"

"Yes sir. That is the summary of it. All you need to do is sign and this is done."

Tony got up and signed all the necessary documents and took everything with him in a small folder.

"I will be expecting to see you more often at the office, Tony." Obadiah stated firmly.

"I'll come in when I feel like it. You forget that I own the company not you." Tony countered. "If you think that you can just tell me what to do, I'm sorry, that isn't going to go over very well." Tony could see that Obadiah's temper was starting to flare up. "I will learn everything because it is for my father, not because you forced me to. See ya later, Obie." He added with a quick wave over his shoulder as he left the office and made sure he had the last word.

Once back at the mansion, Tony was fast to change into a t-shirt and jeans, throwing the rest in the corner of his room. He was so quick to get upstairs and change, he didn't even notice the person sitting on his couch. He crept back down and peered around the corner without being seen to investigate just who Edwin had let in while he wasn't there. It took only a few seconds before his brain clicked.

"Rhodey?"

"You must be slipping. It took your brain that long to recognize me." James Rhodes said with a smile as he stood up.

"No, I am not slipping. Things have just been a little crazy here." Tony said as he hugged his best and only friend in the world. "What are you doing here?"

"Your butler called me up and told me you needed to have a good time for your eighteenth birthday and that's what I am planning on doing. Grab your jacket and we are out of here."

"Where are we going?" Tony asked.

"That's part of the surprise."


	3. Chapter 3

As Rhodey drove up to Magic Mountain, he saw Tony's eyes go wide from his peripheral vision. He couldn't believe that Tony had actually never been here before – the kid that had everything.

"You have never been here before?" he asked as they parked.

"No, my dad never had time enough to bring me." Tony admitted as they walked in.

"Well, just don't throw up on my shoes or scream like a girl. I may have to reconsider my friendship with you." Rhodey said with a laugh.

"Me? Scream like a girl? Did you forget what my dad made? You know…rockets, machine guns, missiles…our own fireworks on the fourth of July. I think you may be screaming before me…and throwing up." Tony stated, throwing the challenge down.

"Tony, I am a pilot. They pay me not to throw up in weird and crazy things. I'll go on one of these and be bored." Rhodey said nonchalantly.

"Then put your money where your mouth is." Tony threw back. "Fifty bucks says that you throw up before I do."

"That's a big bet Tony."

"I can back mine up, can you?" Tony was really throwing it down now.

"Deal, fifty bucks." Rhodey said as he shook on it. "Now, when you lose, you better not get all whiney on me."

"Speak for yourself. I am winning this bet." Tony called back as he sprinted off to one of the roller coasters.

This went on for hours until the park closed. Rhodey and Tony hit every ride there at least twice while scarfing down pizza, corn dogs, nachos and every thing else under the sun. On the way back to the car, as Tony was counting his newly acquired fifty dollars with a smirk, he made the next suggestion.

"I want to hit a club tonight." Tony suggested.

"Now? Even after spending all day here?" Rhodey asked as he was just making sure he heard things right.

"Yes. The hottest one there is preferably. But first, we can't go like this. What I am wearing definitely screams nerd." Tony commented.

"Fine, I'll take you clubbing. You just better not make an ass of yourself." Rhodey conceded.

Back at the mansion, the duo walked in and saw a small cake with _Happy Birthday Tony_ written on it in bright red and some presents stacked next to it with a note.

_For your birthday celebration. The presents are from your parents. Open the ones with the cards on them last – Edwin_

Tony hummed 'Happy Birthday' softly to himself as he cut the cake and gave a piece to Rhodey and one for himself.

"We'll head out once I open my presents." Tony stated as he started to tear into them. It was truly bittersweet. His parents had bought the gifts for him but weren't there to give them to him.

Tony went through all the boxes like a hurricane, getting stereo equipment, clothes, video games…you name it, he got it. Then there were only two left, the ones with the cards. His parents had always got one very special gift from each of them and put the cards on them so Tony would know which one to open last.

He picked up the one from his mother first and opened the card. Tears welled in his eyes as he read it but he wasn't going to tell Rhodey what it said. His hands shook as he unwrapped the present – an electric guitar. His mother always tried to get him interested in other things besides for machines and she got lucky when she found out how much he liked music. Once she knew that, she encouraged it more than anything – piano, guitar, signing, dancing…all of it.

Then he picked up his father's. It was smaller than his mother's but that meant very little. As he read the card, he could not stop the tears from rolling down his cheeks. Then he opened the box and found three sets of keys in it – one for a corvette, one for a Ferrari and one more.

"Your dad bought you three cars?" Rhodey asked.

Tony shook his head. "No, he bought me two." He corrected his best friend as he held up the third set of keys. "This set is to the hot rod we built. He said he would give it me when he thought I was ready for it."

Rhodey didn't know what to say as he watched Tony with silent tears rolling down his face. Tony looked up and the look in his eyes said everything. He was grateful that he wasn't alone and Rhodey didn't need to say a word.

After the two of them polished off the birthday cake, Tony ran up to get changed. After waiting for half an hour, Rhodey was getting impatient.

"How long does it take you to get ready? I have a dead grandmother that moves faster."

"Don't get all in a knot. I'll be right down." Tony called from upstairs.

Within minutes, Tony came down in black jeans and a t-shirt, with a blazer on with the sleeves pushed up and his hair spiked. "Ready?"

When he came down, this was a Tony that Rhodey didn't quite recognize but decided not to say anything; given it was his birthday and all. "I have been ready. I was waiting for you." Rhodey replied as he saw one of the limos pull around front. "I see you arranged a ride for us."

"Of course. Did you think I wouldn't?" Tony said with a laugh as he slid into the car.

"Where to, sir?"

"The hottest club in town."

"Which one would that be, sir?"

"The one with the longest line outside." Tony said as he rolled his eyes.

The car pulled up to the club soon enough and there had to be at least two hundred people waiting to get in. Tony told the driver when to come back to get them before he stepped out of the car, walked right pass the velvet ropes and flipped the doorman a 100 and he and Rhodey walked right in, no questions asked. Rhodey was definitely keeping an eye on Tony now. This was definitely not the shy kid he knew but some alter ego.

Rhodey stepped up to the bar and ordered two beers as he was acclimating to the neon lights, awesome music and the combined scents of alcohol, cigarettes and Aqua Net. Tony stepped up next to him and set another 100 on the bar.

"I got it. This should cover my friend and me for the night." Tony told the bartender as he slipped the bill to him. "Anything left is yours at the end. If it's gone, I'll give you another one. Are we good?"

"Anything you want, sir." The bartender replied as he put the 100 in his pocket.

"You know, you didn't need to do that." Rhodey commented as he handed one of the beers to Tony.

"You got Magic Mountain earlier and I won fifty off of you. I thought this was only fair." Tony said as he cracked the beer open and took a long swallow. "Now, time for a little fun."

Within moments, Tony was on the dance floor with a blonde to his right, a redhead to his left and a brunette in front of him and his second beer in hand. Now Rhodey had his fair share of the beauties as well but they just seemed to flock to Tony.

After a few hours, the crowd was dying down and Rhodey could finally see that Tony's suave exterior was cracking and he was getting a little goofy from the amount of alcohol he had.

Rhodey gathered up his friend and made him say good bye to the last three girls he had been associating with and started to guide him towards the door. Tony made a point to stop at the bar one last time and give the bartender another 100 tip before they went to the limo.

"How many did you have?" Rhodey asked as he was more or less pushing Tony into the car.

"I stopped counting after…" Tony said as he looked as if he were trying to count on his fingers. "Ten…I think." He added with a seriously drunk laugh.

A genius counting on his fingers; now Rhodey knew he was gone. He told the driver to take them back to the mansion as he slowly watched Tony sink into the oblivion of unconsciousness.

Back at the house, Rhodey nearly carried Tony inside and flopped him down on his bed. "I'll be seeing you tomorrow but I doubt you'll remember this." Rhodey told the unconscious boy as he went back downstairs to go home.

The next morning, Rhodey came back to the house bright and early, just waiting to give his friend hell for getting so drunk.

"Good morning, Lieutenant Rhodes." Edwin said as he let him in.

"Good morning, Edwin. Where is he?"

"He's in the bathroom, sir."

"How long has he been in there?"

"Since a little bit after you brought him home last night. Every time he tried to go back to bed, he threw up again." Edwin admitted.

Rhodey had to swallow a laugh at his friend's expense. "Do me a favor, can you put orange juice, a banana and vanilla ice cream in a blender for him and serve it up with a side of aspirin?"

"Of course sir."

"Have that ready and I'll get him down." Rhodey said as he took the stairs two at a time.

It didn't take long for him to find Tony. It was the only bathroom door open a crack. Rhodey peeked inside and there was Tony, dressed in only the pants he was wearing the night before with his head resting on the side of the toilet bowl, asleep. He looked like hell warmed over and now it was time to play with him.

"Rise and shine, Tony!" he shouted at the top of his lungs.

Tony jumped back as he was startled awake and then his hands went right to his head as the headache took hold with a vengeance. "Shut up, Rhodey. Not so loud." Tony hissed.

"Oh no, this is the fun part when your friends get totally wasted the night before." He explained as he hoisted Tony to his feet. "Don't worry. I have Edwin making you the breakfast of champions and it will get you back to normal."

Tony gave Rhodey a confused look but decided not to argue with his head feeling like it was going to split apart. As he hit the bottom step, Edwin handed him a tall glass filled with some light orange liquid and two aspirin. He thanked him and collapsed on the couch and swallowed the aspirin before looking to Rhodey.

"What is this?" Tony asked as he pointed to the glass.

"The breakfast of champions after a night of hard partying, orange and banana smoothie." Rhodey stated as he tapped the glass as a hint for Tony to start drinking. "The banana had B-12 in it and that helps absorb the alcohol left in your system. The orange juice gives back some of the vitamins that you undoubtedly threw up and vanilla ice cream makes it all go down smoother. Drink up."

Tony sipped at it first and then realized it was actually pretty good and downed it. "I may have to have Edwin stock up on this stuff." He said after finishing the smoothie off and his head was feeling better.

"Now, party recovery step two…" Rhodey said as he pulled Tony off the couch again and pointed him upstairs. "Shower because, man, you really stink." He added as he shoved him upstairs.

Tony shot back a dark look but didn't argue. He had survived the first real party he had been to and he didn't think it would be the last.


	4. Chapter 4

As a cherry red corvette convertible came roaring down the road, everyone at Stark Industries security was put on high alert. No one came that fast down a sharply winding road and without getting stopped on the way. As the car got closer, the music blaring from the stereo could clearly be heard. The bass was making the windows shake. Security locked down the gate, not knowing what they were going to face.

The car stopped on a dime, just short of the gate and the guard just stared at the teenager behind the wheel with dark sunglasses, a leather jacket and a backwards Yankee hat on. Just as the guard was about to turn the car away, Tony whipped out his Stark Industries ID and popped his glasses.

"Are you going to let me in or do I have to find new security?" Tony asked as the gate was quickly moved for him. Once he had a clear path, Tony nodded to the guard and floored it, speeding up the rest of the road up to the buildings, parking with a screeching stop right in front.

Stepping out of the car, Tony had the same arrogance on that he did as he walked into the club. He walked boldly into the main building where he was again stopped. Most of the employees were not accustomed to seeing people dressed the way Tony was walking right into Stark Industries but as soon as he was recognized, the buzz went quick all the way up to the top that Mr. Stark was in the building.

Tony smoothly made his way through the work floors, showing how much he really did know about the layout of this place as he moved to the executive elevators to take him upstairs.

Once the doors opened, his father's secretary nearly fell out of her chair with surprise at seeing him there.

"I did not know you were coming today, sir." She apologized.

"Don't worry about it. I come and go as I please." Tony said calmly. "I wanted to check out my office and other things."

He walked up to the door that was his father's office. The name was still on the door. "We'll have to get that changed." He said absently, trying to hold back the warring emotions that were still plaguing him. Tony opened the door to the large corner office with a wall of windows and looked out on what would be his 'kingdom.'

"Are there any other changes you would like to make, sir?"

"Not at the moment. That will come over time." Tony said as he continued to stare out the windows.

It wasn't long before the buzzing had gotten to Obadiah's office and he came down to see if Tony was actually here or he was hearing things. He stood in the door way and watched the boy seem to survey his dominion.

"Something you need, Tony?" he asked coolly.

Tony turned to see Obadiah there and wondered why it took him so long to show up. "No, I was just looking over my company." He replied evenly.

"How did you get in here, Tony?"

Tony didn't say a word. He just reached into his pocket and tossed his Stark Industries ID on the desk.

Obadiah stepped forward and picked up the tag to see if it was actually genuine. He looked it over and it looked real enough. It was actually an ID for STARK, ANTHONY and not his father's. "Where did you get this?" he asked with a warning tone.

"I got it when my father hired me as an employee here." Tony countered.

"What department?" Obadiah was determined to catch the boy in a lie just to discredit him and his damned arrogance.

"Design and development."

"Why have I never seen you here actually working here?"

"Because my father thought it was better that I work from home and send in my stuff in by messenger. He didn't think engineers who have been here for twenty years would take it very well when their superior was a teenager with two degrees in Electrical Engineering." Tony countered honestly. Every word he said was the truth.

"Well, if you are here to learn how things are run around here, I really don't have time today. You really should have told someone that you were coming in today, Tony." Obadiah stated, trying to make Tony feel like a child.

"I told you I would come in when I want to, Obie. You forget that it is my name on the side of the building." Tony stated. "I have time to learn things and I am sort of a quick study, you know…with being a genius and all."

Obadiah was really getting irritated by Tony's attitude and felt the need to put him in his place. "What was this that I heard about last night? You were out at a nightclub until early this morning and you went home roaring drunk. Hardly the image you want to portray as a future CEO."

"It's called having fun, Obie. Maybe you should remember what that was like." Tony stated bluntly before coming out of the office and locking the door behind him. "I may pop in later in the week, if my schedule allows it. See ya later, Obie." He added before walking out of the office and heading down to his car. He was getting pretty good at having the last word in these discussions with Obadiah.

Tony peeled out at full speed again and headed down to Edwards AFB to see if he could find Rhodey. He was planning on hitting the clubs again tonight and wanted his best friend to join him. He was a little more careful driving this time only because he knew they may shoot him if he wasn't. Tony parked his car next to Rhodey's truck and didn't have to wait long for him to come out.

"Was that one of the birthday presents?" Rhodey asked as he noticed Tony leaning on the side of his car.

"Yup and it drives like a dream." Tony said with a smirk. "Want to join me tonight? I heard of this great spot that I want to check out."

"Sorry but I can't." Rhodey said as nicely as he could. "I have a thing called work in the morning and they would not appreciate me coming in hung over. Don't you sort of have that now as well?"

"I can make my own schedule. So you're going to make me go alone, huh?"

"Yes I am, for this time at least."

Tony understood but the disappointment was clearly written all over his face as he hopped back into his car. "Well, you can't say I didn't offer. Maybe tomorrow." He said as he waved goodbye and drove off.

Rhodey watched as Tony sped away and hoped that he didn't get into too much trouble.

That night and every night for the rest of the week, Tony followed the same drill that he had done on his birthday. He slipped into the designer clothes, spiked his hair and hit the hottest clubs that he could find. Every night he would come home plastered and spending half the night in the bathroom throwing up. He was starting to become a regular at some of the clubs and one of the bouncers tipped off a few paparazzi and soon they started to follow his every move, how much he drank and how many women he was with. Tony seemed to blow it off with the charming persona he was fronting until he landed himself on the front page of every national tabloid.

One Sunday morning, Rhodey picked up the morning paper and hit the fan when he saw the headline on the entertainment page 'DRUNKEN STARK HEIR MAKES THE CLUB SCENE WITH FIVE WOMEN." He didn't need to read the story. He wanted to hear it from Tony's own mouth. He hopped in his truck and drove over to his best friend's mansion.

Upon arriving at the mansion, he was greeted warmly by Edwin.

"Where is he? I have to talk to him now."

"He's out by the pool, sir." Edwin stated but barely could get the words out before Rhodey sped past him.

Tony was sitting by the pool sporting the dark sunglasses and his swimsuit with the orange and banana smoothie sitting next to him on the table and drawing something on a drafting pad. "Hey Rhodey! Get your suit on and we'll hang out in the pool." He said happily.

"What the hell do you think you are doing?" Rhodey spat as he threw the paper down on Tony's legs.

"I was having a good time, thank you very much." Tony said flatly as he handed the paper back to Rhodey. "Did I do something wrong?"

"Did you do something wrong? Damn straight you did. You got your drunken ass plastered over every paper in the country. What would your father say about that?"

That hit a cord with Tony. "He would be pissed but he isn't here." he stated, starting to get angry. "You're sounding like Obie. Did he put you up to this?"

"No, Obadiah did not put me up to this." Rhodey spat. "I worry about you as well and I want you to be smart about your social life. I see two different people going about with the same name, daytime Tony – my best friend – and nighttime Tony – someone I don't even know. What gives? You do have an image to uphold here."

"Maybe I don't care what image I am supposed to hold up. I have been holding up that image for most of my life and maybe I want to slip into a new one." Tony responded, barely keeping his temper in check.

"You said you wanted your parents to be proud of you at the funeral. Do you think they would be proud of you with this? Getting drunk off your ass every night, passing out hundred dollar bills like chewing gum and being seen with five women at a time? Did you forget where that money you're throwing around came from?"

"No, I didn't forget!" Tony spat as angry tears started to well in his eyes. "Don't you think I would give every dime back if it would bring my parents back? In a heartbeat but I know that won't happen. Forgive me if I am trying to have a little fun. When most people do this in college, no one thinks less of them. I was _fourteen _and had to sit by and watch. I am not harming anyone. I just want to forget the pain." By the end of his tirade, Tony had tears running down his face. He leaned back on the lounge chair he was sitting in, bringing his knees up and burying his head against his arms and let the sobs over take him.

Rhodey watched Tony crumble right in front of him and saw the kid that was inside the front that Tony was getting real good at putting up. He sat down on the lounge chair next to Tony and put his hand on his shoulder before pulling his friend into a tight hug, letting him cry it out as he seemed to need to. "Tony, I'm sorry. I did not mean for this to happen." He said with a load of guilt in his voice.

Tony pulled back and roughly wiped the tears away. "How did you know what I said at the funeral?" he asked softly as he was beginning to calm down a bit.

"I was there. I couldn't let my best friend go through that alone." Rhodey admitted. "I just couldn't get anywhere near you. You had to have the three ex-Marines with you and no one without a signed invitation could get past them."

"They were hired by my father when I started at MIT. I never liked them much but when the crowds are that big, they make me feel safer." Tony admitted.

In that small statement, Rhodey saw the Tony he knew – the shy kid who was smarter than ninety-five percent of the people he came in contact with who tried to avoid the limelight.

"So what about my invitation here? Join me for a little pool party?" Tony asked.

Rhodey saw the hopefulness in his friend's eyes and he just couldn't say no. "I have no other plans. "

The smile on Tony's face was unmistakable as he raised his glass in a mock toast and knocked back the smoothie with one swallow.


	5. Chapter 5

It had been nearly nine months since Howard and Maria Stark were taken so tragically and in those nine months their son was starting to form a routine to get through the passing of time. As he had somewhat promised, at least three days a week were spent at Stark Industries, learning the ways of how things are done to eventually claim his throne at the top or silently submitting new designs to engineers that he was far smarter than. His nights were spent hidden in a mask of charisma and sex appeal with enough alcohol to fill a swimming pool among the various night clubs, movie premiers and roving parties all in the never ending search for fun. If any free time remained, he tried to actually spend time with his one and only friend, Rhodey, where Tony was just Tony with out any of the masks that the paparazzi were now making a fortune off of.

Tony used all of this to get through day to day life so he didn't have to feel the pain of being alone. When he was actually forced to be alone for whatever circumstances, Tony was starting to isolate himself in his house with what ever his current choice of project was. This was hard for Edwin to keep track off since the boy genius' mind had a tendency to want to do many things at once.

The butler was growing ever more concerned for his young master as he watched silently. He would watch Tony go down into the garage for hours to work on the hot rod that he and his father had started but had never finished. If it wasn't the car, it was many different robots that Tony had made on his own at MIT or he found a quiet corner in the house and played for hours on the guitar that he had received for his birthday. There were many nights when the faithful butler would find Tony asleep over a pile of papers covered in motor oil on a drafting table when his body had finally given into exhaustion after three days of living on nothing but caffeine. He watched as Tony fought to hide the pain he was in by constantly doing something but Edwin knew it would come to head eventually and he wondered if Tony was strong enough to face it when it did.

When December crept around, the pain of being alone hung around Tony like a suffocating force that he wanted to avoid. He knew that he could not when he was faced with it at every second. Stark Industries for the most part was closed for the holidays in December and the clubs weren't doing it for him. Worst of all, Rhodey had gone back to Philadelphia to visit family so Tony had no one even to hang out with.

He found himself missing the way things used to be – so many parties to go to either hosted by his parents or they were invited to them. Tony hated going to most of them when he was younger because people were always talking about him right in front of him. Now, he was wishing he had actually been invited to one.

As Christmas got closer, Edwin had offered to stay for the holidays but Tony dismissed him.

"I am just your employer. You have a family that misses you. You should see them." Tony stated, not wanting to hear any argument.

Tony had even put up a Christmas tree. He didn't know why he did it; no one would ever see it except for him. Deep in the recesses of his mind he rationalized it to the fact that his parents would have wanted him to.

On Christmas Eve, Tony had parked his car at one end of Rodeo Drive and started walking, looking for a restaurant that was still open so he could get something other than cereal for dinner, which was the only thing he could truly make on his own successfully. As he was walking with his hands shoved in the pockets of his leather jacket, he saw a mother and daughter walking past him with shopping bags on each arm. It was the daughter that caught his eye. She was about his age or maybe a little younger, a little thin with fabulous red hair and freckles on her nose and great legs from what he could see. Tony smiled at her as she walked by and it was his true smile not the one that the cameras saw. As they past him, the girl looked back and returned the smile before walking on. Even if it was just for a moment, Tony felt the pain inside ebb away when he thought of that girl's smile.

Back at his mansion, Tony flopped on the couch with the Italian food he managed to score for his dinner and a bottle of red wine. He turned on the TV to a marathon of Christmas movies to keep him occupied. As he watched _Miracle on 34__th__ Street, _he was reminded of all the trips back to New York that his parents had taken him on, ice skating and the tree at Rockefeller Center, Radio City Music Hall, the windows at Macy's and freezing your ass off on New York City streets. By the time the movie had finished, Tony had polished off the bottle of wine and headed up to his room to go to sleep, wishing for a miracle of his own.

The next morning, the house was silent as always. Tony pulled himself from bed and wandered downstairs still half asleep, still dreaming that the past nine months hadn't happened. But when he hit the cold floor with his bare feet at the bottom of the stairs, Tony woke up to reality. No gifts under the tree, no one saying Merry Christmas, just silence. Tony knew he could have bought himself the gifts but that would have defeated the purpose of receiving them. The pain and grief that he tried to keep bottled up inside so well was starting to crack through. Tony went back to that window seat that he had found on the day of his parents' funeral and let the heart wrenching tears rip him apart.

He sat there for hours, just letting the pain consume him. The only thing that even seemed to lessen it was the image of that redheaded girl smiling at him in his mind on Rodeo Drive.

After that, Tony did not want to feel his chest ache like that ever again. He grabbed a few bags of snacks from his kitchen and a six-pack of Coke and headed to the garage. An idea popped into his head of making his robots able to respond to voice commands and if it was possible, maybe talk back. Tony had no idea if this could be achieved but he wanted to try and he was willing to start small if necessary. If not, it gave him something to do until after New Year's.


	6. Chapter 6

The entire main building of Stark Industries seemed to be on edge as the walls seemed to shake as a battle raged within.

"If you would just listen to me for one minute…"

"I will not listen to some crazy idea that you came up with in your garage, especially when you had the audacity to interrupt a board meeting with it."

"If you actually used that MBA that you have displayed so prominently on your wall you would realize that this would save millions in energy costs…"

"This never has a chance in hell of working."

"If I find a way, will you even consider listening to me?"

"Get the data corroborated by the engineers and we'll see…"

"Newsflash! They have _ME_ check _THEIR_ math!"

"That's enough!"

"Dad would have never dismissed me like this! He would have listened!"

Tony stormed out of Obadiah's office, slamming the door behind him in a pure rage.

Nearly no one moved until they heard the sound of a corvette peeling out of the parking lot at top speed and Obadiah screaming something about how infuriating Tony could be.

Hours went by and no one had seen any sign of Tony and Edwin was starting to worry. Even when he went out for the night, Tony at least came home for a little bit. Given his habits and seeming lack of self-respect at times over the last few months, the butler was considering the worst possibilities imaginable.

First, Edwin called Stark Industries on the direct line and discovered his young master had stormed out with the force of a hurricane after a very loud argument with Mr. Stane. Then, over the course of an hour of being switched over and put on hold, he finally got a hold of Lieutenant Rhodes at Edwards AFB.

"What do you mean that Tony is missing?" Rhodey asked, immediately concerned.

"He apparently had a disagreement with Mr. Stane and he left quite angrily."

"Where did he go?"

"No one knows. His father's secretary said that he just drove off. I don't believe he went on the town though."

"What was he wearing?" Rhodey asked. This bit of information would instantly tell him if Tony was planning on hitting the nightlife.

"He was actually in a t-shirt and jeans with motor oil on them." Edwin answered.

"No, he wouldn't be going out like that. Was he drinking at all?"

"No. He had been working most of the night in the garage and then ran off to work this morning after no sleep with what he said was a brilliant idea. I have hidden most of the liquor bottle here and I made sure that his father's secretary had cleared out the decanter and hid it on Mr. Stark."

Rhodey took all of this information in. Apparently, Edwin was trying to keep Tony out of trouble just as much as he was. "Okay. I'll see if I can find him." Rhodey said, trying to reassure the old man. "I will call you back later with an update."

Rhodey got in his truck and started to check the clubs first. Even though Edwin had said he didn't go out and considering what he was wearing, it was probably true but it was better to make certain. He drove by all the ones that Tony usually went to but he bypassed the bars. Tony could easily get into a club at eighteen and blind greedy bartenders with hundred dollar bills but the bars wouldn't even think of letting him in the door.

He took a spin down Rodeo Drive to see if Tony had decided to cruise for girls closer to his age and still with no success.

By this time, it was starting to get dark and Rhodey was running out of places to search. He called the mansion to see if Edwin could give him any better clues.

"Edwin, was there any place that his parents used to take him? Any place special?"

"They used to take him some place near Malibu. They would take him to the beach there when he was a little boy."

"I'll drive out there and see if he's there. Do me a favor and call LAPD and tell them to be on the lookout for a 1984 red corvette with the license plate STARK 1. Make sure to tell them that it has not been stolen. Explain to them that it's Tony."

"Just bring him back, please." Edwin's worried voice came over the phone. "I promised his parents that I would watch over him."

"I'll do my best."

Rhodey got back in is truck and headed down the 405 to the Pacific Coast Highway, heading towards Malibu. It was quite late when he caught sight of a red corvette parked just off the road near Malibu Beach. Rhodey pulled up beside it and left is headlights on to see Tony sitting on the edge of the rocks, over looking the breaking waves below.

"How was your holiday?" Rhodey asked, trying to be casual in the situation.

"Lousy except for one moment. Yours?" Tony replied without turning.

Rhodey would delve into that hole later. "You know a lot of people are worried about you? I think Edwin is going to have a heart attack soon if I don't bring you back."

"I just needed to clear my head after what Obie said." Tony admitted. "He's just so damn thickheaded and thinks the only way things can be done are his way. My dad seemed to run the place well enough."

"What did he say?"

Tony handed Rhodey a folded up piece of drafting paper with his idea on it. "He said it was a fantasy that couldn't even possibly come true."

Rhodey unfolded the paper and looked at the circular object on there. Tony had called it an Arc Reactor – a regenerative source of energy. "This is pretty innovative here. Is this possible?"

"Yes, with the right combination of metals and magnets, it's very possible." Tony said as he felt a little pride back in his idea. "Obie just needs it to hit him in the head to realize it."

"Ever think he may be a bit intimidated by you? Does he always shoot down your ideas?" Rhodey asked as he gave Tony back his design.

Tony shrugged. "I never thought about it like that. He always looks at me like I am a bug to be crushed. As for my ideas, I have to sneak them in or else people try to claim them for their own…even Obie."

"You know more about the business of that place than you let on, don't you?" Rhodey asked with a laugh.

"Obie said he wanted me to come in and learn the ropes. He forgot what a quick study I was and how good my memory is." Tony replied with a small smirk.

"You're time will come with these. Give it another chance when you've cooled off." Rhodey said, trying to reassure his friend. "Now, why on earth did you end up way out here?"

"This is where I am going to build my house." Tony said confidently.

"What do you call that thing you're living in now?" Rhodey asked.

"My parents' house. It will always be theirs."

"So where are you going to build this?"

"Right along those hills and cliffs back there." Tony said as he pulled out a small sketch of a multi-tiered mansion that he had in mind, built right into the rock almost.

"Are you sure that's safe?"

"I'll make it so. I think I know enough about physics and engineering to do that." Tony said as he finally turned to look at Rhodey. He had dark circles under his eyes from lack of sleep and Rhodey could see the motor oil smudges on his shirt and his face.

"When was the last time you slept, Tony?"

Tony thought about it for a moment, scratching his head trying to remember. "What day is today?"

"Wednesday…at least for a little while longer."

"Then I would have to say the last time I slept was…Monday." Tony replied.

"You have been going with no sleep since Monday? How?'

"A lot of coffee and espresso." Tony said with a laugh. "With a six-pack of coke to wash it all down."

"Think you can stay awake long enough to drive home?" Rhodey asked as he pulled Tony to his feet.

"Oh yeah. I haven't begun to crash off the caffeine yet. That will be tomorrow morning." Tony said confidently. "You never did tell me how your holiday was?"

"Fairly enjoyable. I should have invited you to come with me. I think they would have enjoyed you." Rhodey said as he and Tony leaned against his truck.

"A freeloading genius that you dragged home with you like a lost dog…that probably would have gotten me a few strange looks." Tony stated.

"Now, what was the one not lousy moment of yours?" Rhodey countered.

"I saw a cute redhead shopping on Rodeo with her mother on Christmas Eve and when she saw my smile at her…the real one…she smiled back." Tony explained.

"So, did you get a name, a number, and all the particulars?"

Tony shook his head. "Nothing. I just saw her for a moment and I'll probably never see her again. I have girls crawling all over me and the one that hit a spark somewhere inside of me…I probably let get away."

"For a genius, you can be pretty dumb sometimes." Rhodey commented with a laugh.

"Not dumb," Tony corrected. "Distracted." He said as he got back in his car. "Race you back to the mansion?" Tony said as he threw the challenge down.

"Only if you don't break the speed limit." Rhodey called back as he got back in his truck.

"Kill all the fun of having a sports car, why don't you?" Tony called back as he it the gas with Rhodey right behind.


	7. Chapter 7

By the time Tony's nineteenth birthday came around, a new side started to emerge again. The amount of time he spent partying was decreased a bit due to a new law that made the minimum drinking age twenty-one, much to Tony's extreme displeasure. He was spending so much time in the garage building that Edwin was wondering if he even still lived in the rest of the house. It was only the semi-regular pizza deliveries that Edwin was sure that his young master was even eating.

Edwin did not dare even go down to the garage, almost afraid of what he may find down there. He had seen all sorts of electronics and nuts and bolts come through as deliveries. Like his father, the boy had a knack and an addiction to building things but the music choices had definitely changed. Howard Stark was fond of classical while working with the occasional Sinatra worked in. Tony was rock and roll and heavy metal all the way. The music never went off though, just changed in volume. Sometimes, the bass was loud enough to make the walls shake. This went on for more than two weeks straight and that's when Edwin finally reached his limit. He was beyond reaching Tony so he had to call in reinforcements – James Rhodes.

Rhodey arrived on a Sunday morning to a much frazzled Edwin.

"What has he done now?" Rhodey asked.

"He has been down there for over two weeks. He never comes up. I don't want to go down there because the last time I did, something blew up. I was wondering if you could get him out."

"I'll do my best but I think I should have brought more reinforcements." Rhodey said with a laugh as he descended the stairs to the garage. The anniversary had just passed and Tony must not have been doing to well since he holed up in his garage. He was bracing himself for nearly anything that Tony's genius brain could come up with but he was still surprised with what he saw.

Rhodey remembered the one robotic arm that Tony had made while they were still in MIT but now there were at least six from what he could see; each one with a seemingly different purpose. Tony's drafting table was covered with hundreds of different designs that had seemingly poured out of his head. He had at least three different computer screens up with thousands of lines of code on them.

The cars sat along the side of the garage and the hot rod's engine was in pieces. It seemed as if Tony was rebuilding it and the grease all over his shirt was evident of that.

All the machines were one thing but then there was Tony himself. Rhodey noticed that he was deep into work mode to even notice he was there and with the music blaring, how could he hear? Rhodey observed his friend from a distance before approaching him, treating him almost like a live weapon. Tony was very pale except for a slight flush in his cheeks and had dark shadows under his eyes from lack of sleep. There was a ghosting of hair on his face showing that Tony had seemed to neglect the razor at this time. His clothes were covered in motor oil and ink as well as his hands. He could see bruises on Tony's arms very distinctly. His hair stuck up at all angles from running his fingers through it so often. To say that Rhodey was worried was an understatement.

"Hey Tony. What's up?" he asked casually, as if he had seen nothing of the wreck that was Hurricane Anthony.

Tony spun around on his chair and greeted Rhodey with a big smile. "You can finally see everything that I have been working on?" he said excitedly. "I have wanted to show you but you were always busy."

"What have you been doing and how long have you been at this?"

"I have been improving my robots on and off since January." Tony said innocently.

"Don't tell me you have been down here for four months?"

"Not all the time. I went upstairs occasionally."

"When was the last time you went upstairs, Tony?"

Tony thought about it, eyeballed the cans of soda and pizza boxes and the mess of papers he had. "Maybe a week?" he guessed.

"Try more than two." Rhodey corrected. "Edwin told me."

"I was bored and I needed something to do since I am trying to stay out of Obie's hair for the moment, well what he has left." Tony said defensively.

"He's still mad at you for storming out?"

"Just a little bit. I seem to make him very tense whenever I show up there." Tony stated, trying to hide the innate sense of rejection that had slipped into his voice.

Rhodey saw what Tony was trying to hide and decided to get him on something that he was clearly happier about. "So show me what you have been working on here. I see your robots have multiplied."

Tony looked over at his first robot, the mechanical arm that was as tall as he was. "Yeah, it needed friends and I needed more hands." Tony said. "At least my original one wasn't as dumb as one I made." He said as he pointed to one that looked like an over grown fire extinguisher.

"What do you mean by dumb?" Rhodey asked, wondering if Tony was still playing with all his marbles.

"Watch." Tony said as he turned to his first robot. "Hey butterfingers! Grab me that wrench over there." The robot came to life, picked up the wrench and handed it to Tony.

"You made them voice responsive?" Rhodey asked in astonishment.

"Yup. It made them easier to work with and this is the best part," Tony said as he typed in a few things on his computer.

"Good morning, sir." The computer stated.

"It talks?" Rhodey asked incredulously.

Tony nodded with a smile. "It does more than that and I am adding to it all the time. It records my thoughts, does calculations quicker than me, reminds me of all the things I need to do. This thing is advanced enough to have conversations with. The only thing it doesn't do yet is cook and clean."

"You know there are things called phone, Tony."

"Yes, I know that but you were busy." Tony countered.

"Did you name that one too?"

"Yes I did – JARVIS – Just a Really Very Intelligent System." Tony said proudly. "The funny thing about it is that is Edwin's last name. It just made a great acronym for this as well."

"Does JARVIS here remind you of dates as well?" Rhodey asked cautiously.

"And the time as well, why?"

"Do you know what day it is, Tony?"

"Yes. My birthday was two days ago."

"Have you been down here since the anniversary?" Rhodey bluntly asked.

Tony didn't look at his best friend as his shoulders fell. He turned back around to all the papers on his desk and the small robot he had brought to life. The smile was gone as well as the joy of his inventions. He was trying to avoid this.

"Answer me Tony. Have you been down here since the anniversary of your parents' death?"

"What the hell does it matter if I was?" Tony asked quietly, almost forcing it out.

"Because, this is not healthy. I don't want you to waste away down here and neither would they."

'How would you know what they would have wanted?" Tony raged up as he threw the wrench across the room and made a dent in the wall. "What does it matter if I decided to spend my time down here…doing something constructive…instead of getting in people's way? I am not hurting anyone." He screamed before doubling over in a coughing fit.

Rhodey braved the brunt of Tony's anger and grabbed his friend by both shoulders, forcing his friend to look at him. "You are hurting yourself." Rhodey stated plainly. "You're sick and you don't even realize it. How long have you had that cough?"

Tony shrugged as he tried to pull free but Rhodey was clearly stronger.

"And the fever that I can feel from here?"

"I am not sick." Tony weakly protested. The constant drive he had been going off of for more than two weeks was draining quickly and exhaustion was replacing it with an enormous ferocity. "I just need to keep going…"

"No. You need to sleep and let yourself recover." Rhodey told him as he now found he was holding him upright. "Then you need to let go of the pain that you are trying not to feel. You need to find a way to say goodbye to them without losing them."

"I am not hiding…from…anything…" Tony protested as his eyes were falling closed. "I just want to finish…" his voice trailed off.

Rhodey stiffened to keep Tony upright long enough to get him out of the garage and up into his bed. The kid was ill and exhausted and would probably be out for quite sometime. Rhodey got a glimpse of Edwin's face as he walked past with a near unconsciousness Tony and he saw the surprise written all over it.

It was the next morning when Tony finally awoke. He came downstairs, a little bed rumpled but looking much better, to a smiling Rhodey and Edwin.

"Have you two been plotting against me?" he asked through a yawn.

"In a manner of speaking, yes." Rhodey replied.

"It's good to see you're feeling better, sir." Edwin mentioned as he moved to leave the room and let his young master have it out with his best friend. "Are you hungry?"

"A little bit." Tony said as he flopped into a chair. "What have you two been plotting?"

"Ways to keep you from locking yourself in your garage every year at this time." Rhodey answered as Tony dug into a bowl of cereal.

"Isn't it up to me how I spend this time of year?"

"Not when you become a hermit for a month. I have a better solution and after you finish and get cleaned up, I am going to show it to you."

"I guess I have no choice, do I?" he asked Rhodey.

"None what so ever. I think this will help though."

Tony truly doubted what Rhodey was suggesting would help, even though he did not know what it was. There was something like a piece missing inside and he truly doubted that anything could fill it.

In just over an hour later, Tony and Rhodey were pulling through the gates of the cemetery where Tony's parents were buried.

"I do not want to be here." Tony protested immediately.

"This will help. Trust me." Rhodey said, trying to be reassuring as they pulled up to the graves.

Both friends walked up to the gravestone, which had only been set a few months ago. Tony looked at it in silence as tears stung his eyes but he refused to let them fall again.

"You don't have to forget them all together to make the pain go away." Rhodey said softly. "An occasional visit helps to ease things."

"How long does it take to make the pain go away?" Tony said as his voice caught when he wiped some of the grass off the stone.

"That I can't tell you. It's different for everyone. But doing what you were doing only bottles it up until it explodes and next time you may throw the wrench at me instead of the wall. Personally, I do not want to have to explain that to my superiors."

"I am sorry about that. I really didn't mean to throw it."

"Next time, throw something softer." Rhodey said as he and Tony went back to the car.


	8. Chapter 8

The first in company history was the Anniversary Gala of Stark Industries moved from the date of the actual founding. It was moved to two months earlier in fact…a fact that Tony Stark loved and hated all in the same breath. It was moved this year to celebrate his twenty-first birthday and his ascension to the throne as CEO finally. He had spent the better part of the last year actually paying attention to what Obadiah said on occasion and the company had spent that year gearing up for the new CEO.

In the three years that had passed since his parents died, Tony had gotten far more used to the spotlight that he was thrust into. There were two distinct sides to him now as well – the one that the cameras saw and the one that nearly no one saw. The public side he was actually getting a craving for and he almost tried to get magazines and cameras to catch him by some pretty extreme behavior at times. One magazine interviewer quoted him as saying about all the attention, "It's like I have a loaded gun in my mouth and my finger's on the trigger, and I like the taste of the gunmetal_"_. He did like the attention and he could not deny that. He was making a name for himself out of the shadow of his father. Of course it was a name that was associated with being a playboy.

The side that almost no one saw was the real Tony that he ferociously hid from the world. The side that spent outrageous hours hidden away in the garage with his robots and his inventions, ever perfecting them. The side that still watched cartoons and played video games. The side that still felt the pain of loss – loss of his childhood, loss of his parents, the loss of not being able to make his own choices in life.

If someone had asked Tony about four years ago what he wanted for a twenty-first birthday party it probably would have been one hell of a bash that would have rivaled something Hugh Hefner threw. What he was actually getting was a whole different affair. His birthday party was being tied in with the Anniversary Gala – all black tie and stiff shirts – more or less forgotten.

In the days leading up to the gala, Tony was being bombarded left and right with so many details he thought he was going to scream. Remember his speech, choose some of his staff members, meet with the board, sign this, be here, etc. etc. etc. What he needed was someone to organize all this shit for him and keep him on task.

"Maybe you should take Mary's suggestion and hire a personal assistant." Edwin mentioned as he organized the mess that Tony was leaving in his wake whenever he started to work.

"That's easier said than done." Tony quipped. "This person has to be organized, trustworthy, diligent, on top of everything and able to put up with me at all times. Where in hell am I going to find a person like that?"

"They show up when you least expect them, sir. They always do."

"I hope you're right because if I don't find them, I may not make it until thirty." Tony screamed out in frustration as he abandoned the folder he was given for the garage to clear his head. "Is it too late to back out?" he called back.

"They have already changed the letterhead, sir. You're it now." Edwin called back to what seemed like a muttered curse under Tony's breath.

On the morning of the gala and Tony's birthday, Edwin did not wake him. The old butler figured the boy had better rest as much as possible now because he knew he wouldn't later.

Later on in the morning, Edwin did not have to wake him at all. That honor fell to Captain James Rhodes. Edwin joked as Rhodey ascended the stairs that he may want his side arm.

"I'll take my chances. I can still beat him down if necessary." Rhodey said with a laugh as he knocked on Tony's door.

When he received no answer, he pushed it open slowly. Once it was wide enough, Rhodey found Tony sprawled across his bed and face down. For a minute, he thought his friend was passed out until he shook him.

Tony groaned, mumbled something obscene and incoherent and rolled over.

"Get up or I will use a decidedly nastier way of getting your ass up."

"It's my birthday so I will do whatever the hell I want." Came Tony's muffled response from the pillow.

"Fine, you don't want to have any fun before the uptight affair tonight, fine by me." Rhodey said, trying to use reverse psychology on him.

Tony sort of sat up and then threw his pillow at Rhodey's head. "It's not like I can get wasted before I have to deal with all the penguins." He said as he fell back down. "What did you have in mind?"

"I heard there are some pretty awesome waves down on the coast." Rhodey hinted as he looked over at the surfboard in the corner of Tony's room.

"You want to go surfing? I thought you went in the air force to avoid water like that."

"Funny. Do I have to give you another bet to get you out there?"

"Always makes things interesting…especially when I win." Tony said as he finally sat up and swung his legs over the bed. "Fifty bucks says you wipe out first."

"You like that amount, don't you?" Rhodey countered. "I'll take that bet. Now, get moving or I will already count you as wiped out."

"Oh no you won't." Tony called back from the bathroom as he was getting his wetsuit on.

For hours, Rhodey and Tony attempted to surf. They caught a few good ones and enjoyed the view of the beach with all the girls starting to work on their tans already. By the time they started to head back to Tony's to get ready for the gala, Rhodey was counting his newly acquired fifty dollars.

In the limo ride over to the grand Gala, Tony steeled himself up and put on the public persona. He had just about memorized his speech and hoped that he could get through this as quickly as possible. Tony watched from the car as everyone went inside the banquet hall. Obadiah had told him that he would be making a grand entrance to go along with all the press that had been out lately.

Once everyone was seated, Obadiah went up and said a few things that Tony really wasn't paying attention too as he peeked inside the hall from the back doors. Tony wanted to see the video montage that they had made of Stark Industries over the years. It was one way he would get to see his parents again. Then his entrance was at the end of it. Obadiah had wanted it to be a dignified event but Tony had a few add ins of his own…like a change in music. Nothing old and stiff like Obie wanted.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we stand at the threshold of a new era in Stark Industries. A new era by the new CEO." Obadiah had to put on his game face to spit out the next phrase. "Please allow me to introduce the new CEO and President of Stark Industries, Anthony Stark."

The doors opened to Tony, in his tuxedo, standing in the door way to the music of Survivor – the Moment of Truth and Eye of the Tiger to be exact. Everyone in the room stood up out respect for the twenty-one year old who was stepping into his father's very large shoes. As Tony walked forward, it was almost like a prince walking to his coronation to become king. He shook a few hands as he walked up but his eyes stayed focused on the front for the most part…his dominion…his kingdom.

Tony thanked everyone as he stepped behind the podium. "When my father created Stark Industries, he was at the forefront of the technology of the day and this company has staid at the front since then. We are going to be soon knocking on the door of the twenty-first century and Stark Industries will be opening that door. With applications that we have in space, computers, robotics, engineering, biomeds, and weaponry, there is no one that can stop us now. Now, most of you know I am not the best at speeches so in the words of my father, I'll stop wasting time with the boring and get to the interesting. This is a celebration so let the celebrating begin." He said eloquently as he raised his champagne flute in a toast as everyone in the room joined with the young heir.


	9. Chapter 9

It was after six in the evening on a Thursday and Tony Stark still sat at his desk going through a near mountain of papers, order forms, inventory listings, and accounting ledgers. Tony was only putting himself through this hell. He was going through the quarterly report and found an error in the amount of products versus orders and the money that was supposed to be for them. Because of that, Tony had spent the better part of a week doing at least eighteen hours days, trying to sort everything out. His math was never wrong and he was going to find out where someone _DID_ go wrong.

It would be an understatement to say that Tony was tired. He was downright exhausted and was now regretting firing his last assistant. He did have an excuse though – he had missed more meetings because of her than he did on his own. To help him relax a bit, Tony had finally turned on his stereo and put the music up to full blast. If he hadn't done something to release the tension besides for hitting a bottle of good scotch, he may have thrown something threw a window.

It was well after midnight when Tony finally had a break through. He had a stack of orders and shipments that were purposely left off the inventory lists, like they were trying to be hidden. Now he just had to find out who authorized them. It was a company policy that someone very high up had to sign off on the productions of high level munitions and that had not changed. Tony opened up the files on his computer and scanned through all the release forms for the past quarter for all the military grade weapons. Most of them had his own name on it and he knew those were accounted for. He made sure of it. Then there were less than a dozen with Obadiah's name on them. Tony opened every one of them and matched them up to the paper on his desk and he felt sick to his stomach and furious. Obadiah was still trying to run HIS company and this had to end.

Early the next morning, Hurricane Anthony was spinning through Stark Industries. Mary, his secretary, nearly fell out of her chair when she saw Mr. Stark come in before seven. He usually didn't arrive until ten at the earliest.

"Mary, have Mr. Stane come see me as soon as he gets in and call personnel and get me a new assistant."

"But sir, you have gone through twenty-three assistants in two years." Mary reminded him. "None of them can keep up with you."

"Find me one that can." Tony said in a deadly tone before entering his office and slamming the door behind him. His only relief was that his desk was finally visible again except for the orders that Obadiah had signed for.

Around half past nine, Obadiah finally made an appearance in Tony's office. He did not like the fact that he was ordered to come and making Tony wait two hours was his way of showing it. He did not care that Tony was technically in charge. He had been at the top of Stark Industries for almost longer that Tony had even been alive and he was not going to let the little prince forget that.

"Tony, you do not have the right to order me down here." He started.

Tony had not been facing the door when Obadiah came in without even knocking. He had his chair turned so he was facing the windows. He was pissed and he was trying to force it down so he did not explode.

"I have every right to ask to speak to you. I asked you to come down here more than two hours ago." Came Tony's voice from behind the chair in a deadly calm tone.

"I had things to do unless you have forgotten." Obadiah countered. "Some of us actually do work here and haven't had everything handed to us."

"Does that include circumventing company policy when dealing with product shipments?" Tony said coldly as he finally turned around. His eyes had a definite fire burning behind them.

"What the hell are you talking about? You have no right to accuse me of anything." Obadiah protested.

"Yes, I do." Tony said as he tossed the order forms on his desk. "Explain to me why these were left off the inventory listings."

Obadiah picked up the forms like he had never seen them before. "Simple computer error. Those things make mistakes all the time."

"Not twelve times they don't and with only these twelve…the ones you signed for." Tony stated, still having that cold tone in his voice. "I would love to hear why it is only the twelve you signed off on that seemed to be hidden."

"A clerical error." Obadiah spat, his temper clearly getting higher. "Maybe you were the one who made the error. I have been doing the inventory since you were still in elementary school."

"My math is never wrong and I spent five days going over the entire quarter, fixing what you did." Tony spat back. "Why were you trying to hide them, Obie?"

"It used to be that my signature was just as good as your father's. He and I were partners." Obadiah said, leaning on Tony's desk and purposely towering over him.

Tony stood up then so he was eye to eye with Obadiah. "You were my father's employee no matter what you thought. Now, you are mine. Check the name on the side of the building. All weapons processing goes through me and if I ever catch you circumventing me again, you are done for."  
"You forget who you are talking to here, Tony. You owe me your respect."

"No, you owe it to me. If you can't handle that, there's the goddamned door!" Tony roared. "If you can't work _FOR_ me, get the hell out."

Obadiah had do all he could to not knock Tony right back into his chair. "For over twenty years, I have run this company. Get that through your head, kid."

"Well, now I run it so consider it a break for you." Tony countered back again. "You are the Chief Financial Officer and you know what duties that entails or do I have to remind you…that is unless you want to seek employment elsewhere."

"Next time, you want to talk to me, Tony, you make a damn appointment." Obadiah said as he stormed out of the office and back down to his.

Tony stepped out of his office after Obadiah left, still riding the killing edge. "Mary, I want the names and numbers of all the contacts that Mr. Stane has that are different from mine. He needs to remember a few things."

"Of course, Mr. Stark." Mary answered obediently, despite the fact that her young boss' tone made her nervous. "Personnel called up, sir. They think they may have found you a new assistant. She is in the accounting department and she is one of the best they have down there. They said she is diligent, organized, always on top of things and a real go to person."

Tony's mood improved at the sound of this. "Schedule an appointment for her to meet me after lunch." He told Mary as he rubbed the bridge of his nose, trying to force back the headache he had. "I do not want to be disturbed until then unless it's absolutely necessary. I need some time to calm down."

"Very well, sir. I shall schedule the girl's appointment for two o'clock. Can I do anything else for you, Mr. Stark?"

"No Mary. Thank you." Tony said before slipping back into his office. He turned his stereo back on, but at a much more tolerable volume. He poured himself a scotch and then lay down on the couch in his office and closed his eyes. Tony sipped at the scotch until he had finished it and his nerves had calmed enough to allow him to drift off into a light snooze.

Around noon, Tony finally awoke, feeling much better than he did that morning. He was a little hungry and decided to get his lunch on his own today instead of asking someone to get it for him. He needed to get out of his office. Tony took off his jacket and loosened his tie, trying to blend in so he wouldn't be noticed as much instead of sticking out like the executive he actually was.

Down in the cafeteria, Tony wasn't paying much attention to anything besides for what he was eating until he saw a flash of red hair out of his peripheral vision. His head whipped around quickly to see if he could find it again and he did – a tall red head dressed in blue. When she turned her head just a bit, Tony recognized her. It was the same girl he had seen on Rodeo Drive five years ago. Tony couldn't help but smile at that memory and was silently thanking whatever person in Human Resources decided to hire her. He wanted to chase after her, get her name, ask her out and see where it could go from there but in an instant…she was gone again.

"Maybe it's just as well." Tony thought to himself as he began to eat alone. "It would be bad PR if the CEO is dating an employee."

By the time two o'clock came around, Tony was so bored in his office; he was playing solitaire on his computer. He quickly closed it when Mary knocked on his door.

"Mr. Stark. Your two o'clock appointment is here for her interview as your personal assistant."

Tony looked at his watch. She was early…a good sign. "You can send her in. What is her name and preliminaries?"

"Virginia Potts, sir. She has two Bachelor's degrees with honors, one in accounting and one in finance with a minor in Business Management from the University of Maryland. Before coming to work for us, she worked in several companies in Silicon Valley."

Tony was intrigued. This candidate definitely had a brain at least. "This one sounds like she has promise. Let's see if she can back up what's on paper."

"Let's hope she does, sir. You go through assistants like most people go through oil changes." Mary said with a laugh as she ushered the girl into Tony's office.

Tony wasn't looking up at first until he heard the sound of stilettos clicking on the part of his floor that did not have carpet. His eyes shifted up to see a tall redhead in front of him with freckles on her nose and great legs…the same girl he had seen five years ago but she didn't seem to remember him.

"So Ms. Potts, why do you want to be my assistant?" Tony asked with a playful smile.

"I like challenges, Mr. Stark. I am highly organized and hard working and I always do my job to the best of my abilities." Potts replied, trying to hide the fact that she was a little nervous about facing this rather good looking guy in front of her

"So you consider me a challenge?" Tony mused. This girl was interesting and it was turning him on.

"I consider any job I do a challenge to be overcome." She answered.

"Now why did they choose you over so many others who work here?"

"I found an accounting error that you had made." She answered honestly, hoping that it wouldn't get her thrown right out and fired.

"I made a mistake? That's not possible." Tony said as he was quickly running numbers through his head.

"It was only a small one, sir. The way a five was written, it looked like a six." Potts admitted.

Tony thought about it for a moment and he did have to admit that his writing was terrible and had to admire her for finding that. "So, do you have a nickname, Ms. Potts?"

"Sir? A nickname?"

"Yes, a name that is part of an entity or thing that is not its proper name." Tony said, giving more of a dictionary definition of it as a joke.

"Pepper, sir." She almost admitted reluctantly.

Tony smiled at the name. He liked it and he wasn't going to hide it. "So, when can you start?"

"When would you like me to start, sir?"

"Is tomorrow too soon?" Tony asked.

"No sir. I can start tomorrow."

"Good, Ms. Potts. Mary can give you an idea of job duties and we can go over it tomorrow if you have any questions."

Pepper wrote down what Tony had said before looking up with a smile. "Will there be anything else, Mr. Stark?"

"That will be all Ms. Potts."


	10. Chapter 10

Pepper Potts had only been Tony Stark's personal assistant for a few weeks when she came to work for the first time and he wasn't in his office and didn't look like he was going to be there at all. Usually, if she didn't get it, his secretary Mary would have put the coffee on for him since everyone knew he was not a morning person. The morning papers would have been arranged on his desk for his perusal and the general environment actually seemed less tense when Mr. Stark was around, maybe it was the fact that a twenty-three year old was the CEO and if pushed, could make captains of industry piss their pants but was generally fairly nice to the people that worked for him. It was only to people who tried to tell HIM what to do was when he got mad.

"Ms. Potts, I have a message for you from Mr. Stark." Mary told Pepper as she was putting her purse down on her desk.

"Yes? What is it?" she asked his secretary.

"He said that he would not be in today since he was not feeling well and you are to report to his house."

Pepper was a little bit stunned at this. "I have to take care of him when he's sick too?" she exclaimed.

"As his assistant, you do anything and everything that he asks. " Mary replied. "When he called, he sounded very ill so he'll probably sleep most of the day and stay out of your hair. Just deal with the phone calls, cancel his appointments and get him a glass of juice on occasion. He's too sick to try to make a pass at you."

"He always tries to make a pass at me." Pepper noted.

"Pepper, to survive in this job, you are going to have to learn to resist Mr. Stark's charms. I know it is hard to resist all his tricks but you are going to have to. Be his assistant. Care for him, he needs to know that someone does. Be his friend…Lord knows he needs them…but don't get into his bed. The other twenty-three assistants forgot that."

"How do you know all of this?" Pepper asked as she was gathering her bag back up again.

"I was his father's secretary first so I have known Tony Stark since he was in diapers." Mary admitted as she handed Pepper a slip of paper. "That is his address. You should already have your access codes to get in."

Pepper took the slip of paper and noticed the Malibu address and looked a bit worried. She had almost memorized the codes Mr. Stark had given her but not quite yet.

"Don't worry so much, dear. He likes you and he must trust you or else he would not have asked for you." Mary reassured her before Pepper walked out and got into her car.

Pepper pulled up to the multi-level mansion built into the hills of Malibu and was awestruck. She thought she was prepared for this but realized she had clearly underestimated what she was going to see.

She gathered up all the portfolios and documents she had brought over to work on, her bag and then attempted to type in her access code but couldn't quite hit the numbers. She tried it three times and three errors meant a lock out. Pepper was told about Jarvis, the A.I. that ran the house, but she still was not used to asking a computer for help, which is what she should have done despite her discomfort. Instead, she chose the old fashioned method and knocked on the door.

"Sir, your assistant is knocking on the door." Jarvis' voice interjected into the darkened bedroom where Tony Stark was trying to sleep.

"Just let her in. Why are you bothering me?" Tony grumbled from under his cocoon of blankets.

"She attempted to use her access code and inadvertently locked herself out so I can not open the door for her."

Tony muttered a few choice phrases under his breath as he slowly sat up and swung his legs over the side of his bed. He had a raging fever, his head was spinning which didn't help his stomach, and he had chills and ached all over. He felt like a truck had hit him…twice… and he had to go open the door.

As he padded downstairs cautiously after missing the first step, Tony grabbed the blanket that he had left on the couch from the night before and wrapped it around himself. When he finally made it to the front door, Tony stood behind it and braced himself against it so he wouldn't fall over as he opened the door.

Pepper walked in cautiously as she saw the door open without someone attached to it. Once she got past the door and could see behind it, Pepper screamed when she saw Tony there.

"Don't scream, please. My head feels bad enough as it is." Tony pleaded as he shut the door.

"Mr. Stark, I am so sorry. I couldn't get the door open and then I was startled." Pepper stammered out as she was confronted with her boss in his pajamas, pale and feverish and looking like death warmed over.

"Why didn't you just ask Jarvis to open the door?" Tony asked as he started to move back towards the stairs so he could sink back into the welcoming comfort of his bed.

"I am not used to talking to a computer, sir."

"Well, get to know him. He's real enough. He'll be better company than me. I'm going back to sleep."

"What do you wish me to do here, Mr. Stark?"

"Do what you would normally do; it's just a change of location." Tony said through a yawn. "Get to know the house, whatever. Jarvis will tell you if I need anything." He added as he finished climbing the stairs and went back to his bedroom and crawled under his blankets.

"Forgive him, Ms. Potts. He's usually not in a good mood in the morning." Jarvis interjected.

"It is more my fault since I did wake him up." Pepper admitted reluctantly to the A.I. as she sat down and attempted to go through the folders she brought with her.

This lasted about five minutes before her curiosity got to her.

"Jarvis? Would you mind giving me a tour so I don't get lost in this place?"

"It would be my pleasure, Ms. Potts. Would you like the guided tour or for me to answer any questions as you go through?"

Pepper thought about it and did not know how far Jarvis' voice would carry and not wanting to wake her boss for the second time in one day. "I think I will opt for one question at a time, thank you." She answered the A.I. as she ascended the stairs to start on the upper most floors.

Upstairs, she found mostly bedrooms and a few bathrooms attached to them. Most of the doors were shut. Pepper peeked into a few of what she assumed were guest rooms and found them lavishly decorated with all the fineries – king sized bed, satin sheets, great views of the ocean. As she continued to explore, she found one open door and this surprised her by what she had learned about her boss so far. The one open door was Tony's bedroom.

She gently pushed the door open to peek inside as well as check on how Tony was doing. Despite how dark the room was, she could see that it was simpler than the others. Definitely not what she would have expected. Pepper then looked over to the bed and its sleeping occupant. Tony had buried himself up to his ears with his blankets and was snoring slightly. She crept over to his bedside and collected the empty glasses he had left on his nightstand and brushed a lock of hair out of his eyes. Just from that brief touch, Pepper could feel the high fever that Tony had radiating from him.

"Has he taken anything for this?" Pepper whispered to Jarvis.

"Actually yes…for once." Jarvis answered with as much sarcasm as a computer could manage. "He felt bad enough to admit to it this time."

Pepper slipped out of Tony's bedroom and closed the door mostly behind her. "Jarvis, please tell me when he gets up or if there is any change. He'll probably be hungry by then."

"Of course, Ms. Potts."

"What does Mr. Stark usually eat?" Pepper asked as she descended the stairs back into the living room.

"A lot of take out."

"He doesn't cook?"

"The extent of his cooking skills is limited to cereal and peanut butter sandwiches."

Pepper had an idea as she made a quick perusal of the kitchen and pantry. "I know something that may make him feel better. Jarvis, could you have some thing sent over from the supermarket?"

"Anything. Just type what you wish me to summon on your computer and it will be sent right over."

"Where is my computer?" Pepper asked cautiously.

Jarvis answered her by turning on the lights in an office just off the living room. "This was designed to be Mr. Stark's office but since he does most of his work in the garage, he gave it to you."

"That was nice of him." Pepper admitted as she turned on the computer and quickly typed in a shopping list before descending to the last floor…the garage.

She peered through the window at a row of classic and high powered cars, a dozen or so robotic arms and a mass of computers that would make Steve Jobs jealous.

"How much time does Mr. Stark spend down here?" she asked.

"If there is ever a time when you can not find Mr. Stark, look here." Jarvis replied. "Ms. Potts, you asked me to tell you when Mr. Stark awoke. He is watching television in his bedroom at the moment and your delivery has arrived."

"Thank you Jarvis. Please tell Mr. Stark that I will bring his lunch up in a little while." Pepper stated as she climbed the stairs and headed into the kitchen.

"As you wish, Ms. Potts."

It wasn't long before the aroma from what was in the kitchen wafted up the stairs and definitely peeked Tony's interest.

"Jarvis? What smells so good?" he asked as he flipped the TV to another game show.

"Ms. Potts is cooking for you."

Tony was actually surprised. "I guess I finally found a good one. If she could help me down the stairs so I don't fall and make a fool out of myself, I'll eat down there with her."

"I will tell her, sir." Jarvis replied before contacting Pepper. "Ms. Potts?"

"Yes Jarvis?"

"Mr. Stark sends his compliments to what he smells and requests that you come upstairs to help him get down so he can join you for lunch."

"He needs help? He came down fine this morning?" Pepper asked as she stirred the soup she was making.

"He was quite dizzy this morning and I believe he does not want to repeat nearly falling down the stairs."

"You know that makes me feel even worse." Pepper commented as she turned the heat down to a simmer and started for the stairs. "Jarvis? Should I be warned about what Mr. Stark is watching on TV?" she asked as she stopped on the first stair.

"Nothing to worry about. He has been watching game shows since he awoke."

"Game shows?" Pepper questioned. She had more expected the news, a movie or something a little more private.

"There were no cartoons on that he wanted to watch." Jarvis deadpanned as Pepper went up the stairs and knocked on her boss' bedroom door.

As Pepper waited at the door for an answer, she could hear Tony talking to the TV. She opened the door after a few minutes to see her boss sitting up in bed and watching _The Price is Right_.

"How are you feeling, Mr. Stark?" she asked, trying to get his attention.

"A little bit better." He answered with a small smile. "Care to help me downstairs? I know Jarvis isn't the best company."

"I could bring lunch up, if you wish." Pepper suggested even as Tony started to get out of bed.

"I have been stuck up here too long and I'm bored. I want to come down stairs." He admitted as he let her help him up and she steadied him as they went downstairs.

Tony flopped down on the couch and Pepper threw one of his blankets over him and propped a few pillows behind his back to make him more comfortable.

"I should get sick more often. This is great." Tony said as he told Jarvis to turn the TV on for him.

"Don't get used to this, sir. You just looked like you needed it." Pepper commented as she started to fill two bowls of the soup she made.

"I always need someone to take care of me. It's the reason why I have an assistant and an A.I. to keep me on task. If someone doesn't kick my butt on occasion, I have a tendency to go off on my own and for some reason that worries people when I spend countless hours working on my cars." Tony rambled on. "What smells so good? I could smell it from my room."

"Homemade chicken soup." Pepper said as she set the bowl in front of Tony and one for herself. "My mother's recipe."

Tony took a few spoonfuls and his face showed how good it was. "My compliments to your mother's recipe. This is better than what my parents' cook used to make and he graduated from the Culinary." He commented between mouthfuls.

"Thank you, Mr. Stark. No one has ever said that to me before."

"Then they're just blind and dumb." Tony commented. "Is there any more?"

"Yeah, I made enough to feed you at least for two days since Jarvis told me how you eat." Pepper said as she got him more soup.

"You snitched on me." Tony shouted to Jarvis.

"Someone has to." Jarvis replied.

"You forget that I can reprogram you."

"I never forget that, sir."

After lunch, Pepper went back to work, returning phone calls and cancelling appointments for the week to give Tony time to recover. She had to secretly admit that it was easier to get stuff done while he was lying on the couch next to where she was sitting watching game shows than having to think of excuses to check on him every few minutes. She did notice that he was starting to get drowsy again when there was less talking at the TV. Pepper was a little amused by Tony playing along with the games from home. By the time _Jeopardy!_ had come on, Tony was fading fast. He answered every question on the first round, missed a few during the second and very sleepily answered final jeopardy. He wasn't even awake to find out that he had the correct answer.

It was well past six when Pepper had finally finished for the day. Now, she really had a problem. Did she leave or did she stay? Did she wake up her boss or did she let him sleep? The second problem was solved as soon as she got up from the couch.

"Where are you going?" Tony asked through a yawn as he opened his eyes and was looking straight at Pepper.

"I was putting my things away so I can go home. It's getting late."

Tony looked at his watch. "It's only six. What about dinner? You can't leave before that. And then what happens at night? What if I need something? What if I fall and hit my head? You would feel really bad leaving a sick man like this. I think you should stay here for the night. My bed has more than enough room." He pleaded, laying it on thick.

Pepper was wondering when this was going to happen today and it answered question number one. "I made enough food for you to have for dinner as well and no, I can not stay here, Mr. Stark. If you really need something and I mean REALLY need something, then call me. I will be back early in the morning."

"I mean if it the whole thing in sharing a bed with me, I have guest rooms…" Tony tried again.

"Will that be all, Mr. Stark?" Pepper said, purposely cutting him off with a smile.

"That will be all, Ms. Potts. Have a good night." Tony wished her from his spot on the couch as he watched her leave.

"Good night, Mr. Stark."


	11. Chapter 11

Every morning when Pepper started her day at Tony's house instead of the office, which was becoming more and more frequent, she ran through the same mantra of a routine in her head until it still went through as she slept. If her hands were full, she should ask Jarvis to get the door. First thing, ask Jarvis where Mr. Stark is, what he is doing and if he is alone. If he was not alone, usher said bimbo out of the house before Mr. Stark gets up. After inquiring to Mr. Stark's status, Pepper puts on coffee and answers as many messages and phone calls before Mr. Stark gets up. If Mr. Stark did not wake on his own, get him up at least an hour and a half before his first appointment because he was not a morning person. This was the first few hours of Pepper's day nearly every morning. This morning started out just the same way.

She got to Tony's house just after seven in the morning and Jarvis let her in.

"Good morning, Jarvis." She stated as she set her purse and laptop down in the living room.

"Good morning, Ms. Potts. How are you?"

"Very well, Jarvis. Where is Mr. Stark?"

"Mr. Stark is out by the pool."

"He's out by the pool? He usually isn't up this early."

"He is when he does not go to sleep the night before."

"Is he alone?"

"Yes, Ms. Potts."

"What is he doing by the pool?"

"Working on his tan and recovering from a hangover." Jarvis stated with no sympathy.

Pepper heard this and braced herself. She had already seen her boss quite drunk since that was how he tended to deal with boring functions that he did not want to be at and had an open bar. She had already learned that he was still rather coherent when drunk, even when most people would be passed out. She has also had the pleasure of sitting with him when he did go too far and ended up throwing up most of the night. Pepper wondered what she was going to walk into this morning.

She crossed through the living room out to the pool deck to see Tony floating on a raft shaped like a chair in the pool with a big glass of something light orange with a straw in the cup holder. He had his dark sunglasses on as he lounged in the pool, sucking up whatever he was drinking every few minutes.

"Good morning, Mr. Stark." Pepper said with a smile.

"Hey Pepper!" Tony said very cheerfully for someone who had spent the whole night drinking. "Go get your bikini on, throw on some sunscreen because you seem like the type of girl who has a tendency to turn hot rod red and come splash around with me."

"Do you know what day and time it is, Mr. Stark?" Pepper asked as she brushed off the come-on.

"Nope. Am I supposed to?" Tony asked as he took another sip from the glass on his float.

"You have several meetings today which you can't miss. The first one is at ten."

"Plenty of time for a swim. What are you waiting for?"

"I did not bring my suit. I didn't think we were having a pool party, Mr. Stark." Pepper said calmly.

"I am up for skinny dipping and then rubbing aloe on eventual sunburns on sensitive areas." Tony said with a smile.

"Can you please be serious for a second?"

"I am being serious." Tony replied and then noticed his assistant's annoyance with him. "What did I do now?"

"What time did you go to sleep last night?"

"I don't believe I did."

"What were you doing?"

"Playing some very interesting drinking games." Tony stated. "Started with beers from around the world. You have to guess where the beer is from after drinking it. It gets pretty interesting by the time you have ten or twenty. Then we switched to hard liquor. We were still doing pretty well when we started with Jack Daniels and Jose Cuervo but by the time we got to the sake, many were on the floor. We ended the night by doing alternating Irish whiskey and Guinness until everyone hit the floor, except yours truly." He explained with a bit of pride.

Pepper's annoyance was growing quickly as she heard this and wondered how he managed to pull off that feat of alcohol consumption.

"What is that you're drinking?" she asked as she pointed to the glass.

"Orange juice, vanilla ice cream and banana smoothie." Tony said as he raised his glass to her. "Great morning after drink and good for breakfast too if you want one. There's more in the kitchen."

"No, thank you, Mr. Stark." Pepper politely refused as she watched her boss just float around the pool in his swim trunks. "Would you like to hear what you are expected to be at today?"

"Fire away."

"At ten, you have a meeting scheduled with Lockheed Martin about a blending of technologies. At one, you have a lunch with William Montague about procuring Stark technologies for Great Britain. At three, Research and Development would like to go over a few ideas with you."

"Do I have anything tonight?" Tony asked, showing he was paying a little attention.

"No, your evening is free."

"Good, because I have plans." Tony said as he hopped off the float and swam over to the side to get out.

"You didn't tell me about this. What sort of plans?"

"My own plans." Tony countered.

"A date?"

"Sort of."

"Girlfriend?"

"Believe it or not, I have never actually had a girlfriend of the traditional sense. Apparently, my choice of lifestyle is not conducive to it." Tony stated.

"Meaning most girls don't like the revolving door on your bedroom." Pepper commented.

"That was low, Pepper. It doesn't revolve." Tony stated as he dried off with a towel. "And you should know I never actually take them to MY bedroom. It's one of the guest rooms. You are the only woman who has actually seen the inside of my bedroom here."

"I am surely honored, sir."

"You should be. But then again, you did take really good care of me when I was sick so I can't exactly forbid you from it." Tony said with a smile.

"You're terrible. Do you know that?" Pepper said with a small smile.

"You tell me every day." Tony said as he went into the house and grabbed a bowl out of the kitchen and poured some Frosted Flakes and milk in it before flopping down on his couch and flipping on the TV. "Is there time in my schedule for a nap at all today?" he asked in between bites.

"Most likely, no, Mr. Stark." Pepper replied as she started on all the messages and phone calls.

"Then keep the coffee coming today, as strong as possible, or I may not make it."

After the morning had started as somewhat of a disaster, Tony actually made every meeting he was scheduled to go to, even the one o'clock lunch which Pepper had to wake him up from the nap he had tried to sneak in.

By half past four, Tony was still behaving himself according to his assistant's standards and signing a mound of documents that Pepper had shoved in front of him. His hand was killing him from signing his name so often but he wasn't going to complain since he gave Pepper such a hard time earlier and she had been right there for him all day long.

By six, Pepper had half of her to do list done and Tony was strolling out of his office in full conqueror mode as Pepper referred to it. It was when he kicked up the style and charm to see how many female conquests he could get in one night.

"See you tomorrow, Pepper." Tony called out as he walked past her and gave her a wave.

"Good night Mr. Stark." Pepper said even though she knew he did not hear her. After Tony had left, Pepper looked at her list again. It consisted of scheduling some appointments, organizing Tony's desks at the office and in his workshop and to go grocery shopping for him since he proved he was incapable of it. She figured that Tony would be out of his house for most of the night if not all of it so she could easily fill his pantry and make sure his chaos is organized without him even knowing she was there. The mark of a good personal assistant was being there for your boss and keeping them happy while being mostly invisible.

It was late when Pepper got back to Tony's mansion that night. Everything was dark except for the soft light emitted by the waterfall in the corner of the room. Pepper figured Tony must still be out with his 'plans' and did not ask Jarvis where he was. She went ahead and put away the groceries before descending into the garage.

Now, this desk she didn't organize in the way that it was meant. This was Tony's organized chaos and he knew where everything was on it and she did not mess much with this. She just got rid of the candy wrappers and soda cans that littered the table and floor and tried to pick up things that clearly did not belong.

Just as she was finishing, she heard loud thumps coming from upstairs. She thought she was here alone and got a little nervous. Jarvis would have told her if Tony had come home…unless he had been home all along. Then more sounds echoed through the floor and spooked her even more. She had been in this house enough at night to know his sounds already and that did not sound like him.

Pepper came up from the garage, took off her stilettos and went upstairs to investigate. The hallway was dark except for a small sliver of light coming from beneath one of the doors. As she got closer, she could have sworn she heard a growl. Pepper pushed open the barely closed door, gasped and nearly died from shock at what she saw.

Tony was on the bed with two identical brunettes in what can only be described as an advanced state of foreplay and Pepper had thought she had a good view when Tony was in the pool. Not a scrap of clothing among the three of them. Tony had his mouth on the breasts of one and his hands exploring the other while the two girls worked their magic on him with one hand from each bringing him to full attention.

At the sound of her gasp, one of the twins looked up and locked eyes with Pepper. That was her cue to make a quick exit. Pepper turned away from the door and went to her office to try to erase the worst thing she had caught Tony doing from her mind.

"Tony, who was that?" one brunette whined as she played with him.

"Who was who?" he mumbled as he was clearly distracted.

"The redhead." The other brunette filled in.

"My Pepper…"

"And what does she do?" one twin demanded.

"Anything I ask…"

Suddenly one twin looked at the other and the fun ground to a screeching halt. "Anything you ask, huh? Well if she does that, then you don't need us."

"Wait a second…" Tony protested, barely getting the words out before one of the brunettes landed a right hook into his face.

Tony yelled in pain and was about to protest again when the other twin landed a knee right where it hurt the most and then a quick punch to his nose.

"What the hell happened?" Tony cried out as the twins gathered their clothes and stormed out.

Pepper heard the door slam but still waited a little longer before coming out. She was sure she was going to be fired for this one. There was that invisible line and it can only be crossed so many times before it bites you in the ass.

When she finally did come out of the office, Tony was sitting on the couch in a pair of flannel pajama pants with an ice pack between his legs, a kitchen towel up to his nose and a scotch on the rocks in his hand which he was sipping from and using to stop the pain by his eye.

"I'll have my resignation on your desk by morning, Mr. Stark." Pepper said quietly as she started to gather her things.

"Why in hell would you do that?" Tony asked through a grimace of pain.

"Because of what just happened."

"You are the best damn assistant I have ever had and if you think I am going to let you walk out that door because I acted like an ass, you are out of your mind." Tony stated.

"But…what about that?" Pepper said as she gestured to the stairs.

"That…was an accident." Tony stated as he put his glass next to his eye. "An awkward and embarrassing accident."

"I am sorry about that. I was straightening up here and I heard a noise and I thought I was here alone."

"Ah…no…that was probably someone falling on the floor." Tony stated. "Might have been me…after a bottle of champagne each, things can get a little fuzzy."

"Can you explain how you got so beat up?" Pepper asked, sincerely showing concern as she put her stuff back down and took a seat on the couch next to him.

"Well…Good and Evil there were the October centerfolds for Playboy and never have they been more aptly named. When they saw you, apparently something came out of my mouth that they didn't like…I am not exactly sure what because I really wasn't thinking at the moment. Well, they got pissed off and then Good landed the right hook with a big ring to my face here," he said as he gestured to the bruise with a scratch in the middle of it on his cheekbone. "And Evil landed a hard knee right to my balls and then proceeded to give me the bloody nose as well," he continued as he took the towel away and glanced at it. "And it is thankfully stopping. I thought she had broken my nose she hit me so hard. So that's bring us to here…me…having had the shit kicked out of me by two girls and wallowing in my pool of misery. Come right in, the water's warm."

Pepper had to try hard not to laugh at the sight before her and laughing would just add insult to injury. "Let me see the bruise for a second." She told him as she gently pushed away the bloodied towel and the hand that had his scotch in it. "She did hit you hard. What kind of ring was she wearing?" she asked as she touched it gently.

"I don't know what stone it had but it was huge and hard." Tony said as he winced under Pepper's gentle examination. "Can you cover this up so I don't get laughed at?"

"I think I may be able to do something for that." Pepper said with a warm smile. "Will there be anything else, Mr. Stark?"

"I would say you could examine other things as well if you were up to it but I KNOW I am not." Tony said with a small dry laugh at his own expense. "I would like another scotch on the rocks if you could get it for me?" he asked as he held out his glass. "And considering the night we just had, Pepper…which we are never speaking of again…I think it is safe enough for you to call me Tony. I mean, you spend most of your working day in my house…the least you can do is call me by my first name."

Pepper took his glass and refilled it for him, with lots of ice and gave it back. "I am trying to keep things professional here and calling you Tony seems just a bit odd."

"Yeah there is a professionalism line here but I also consider you a friend and I want you to call me Tony. Do I have to make it an order?' he asked as he took a sip of his drink.

"Probably and it would still take me a while to get used to it." Pepper stated.

"Well, get used to it because I am not letting you go anywhere. You're the best thing for a screw up like me. Come on, you have seen me through the flu, sat with me when I am throwing up from too much drinking and seen me in various states of undress. You can call me Tony."

"Whatever you wish."

Tony took that response as a yes and he slowly got up, moving the ice pack for only as long as it took him to get into his own bed. "Good night Pepper." He said warmly as he went up stairs.

"Good night, Tony." She said back before she went home for the night.


	12. Chapter 12

It started out as a beautiful October day but was quickly becoming overcast, both in weather and in mood inside Stark Industries. Pepper was sitting at her desk, going through a pile of RSVPs for the Maria Stark Foundation Masquerade ball, checking off quite a few positive replies.

Tony Stark popped out of his office around mid-afternoon dressed in a t-shirt and jeans and received a quizzical look from his assistant.

"What happened to the suit, Mr. Stark?" she asked pleasantly but with curiosity.

"Well I am going down to go play with the nerd and geek squads from MIT and RPI and I plan on getting my hands dirty." Tony replied as he perused the pile of responses on Pepper's desk.

"Nerd and geek squads?"

"Research, Design and Development." Tony restated. "The department I actually used to work in before I got the big desk in there."

"Understood, sir." Pepper replied. "It looks like there will be a good turnout for the ball next week."

"Good. This is one I actually like going to." Tony said as he sat on the edge of Pepper's desk. "Speaking of the ball, I need a date for it. I need someone classy and upscale and as you say, that would limit out all the company I usually keep."

"Do you have someone in mind, Mr. Stark?" Pepper asked as she looked up from her work at her boss' most charming smile.

"You of course. You actually had to ask? I thought I had made myself clear." Tony replied.

"I really don't think I should be your date, Mr. Stark. It would not be proper." Pepper politely refused.

"Then consider it work but I want you with me." Tony restated. "You can keep me out of trouble and away from the bar all night and maybe have a little fun in the process."

"I don't have a costume." Pepper replied, still trying refuse without hurting his feelings.

"Not a problem either. Since I am going as a magician you can go as my lovely assistant. That works perfectly and has many interesting costume possibilities. So you, my credit cards and I will take care of that tomorrow. Now, you have no more excuses. We'll leave my house at seven next Friday night, understood?"

"Yes, sir." Pepper said in concession. "Will there be anything else, Mr. Stark?"

"That will be all, Ms. Potts. If you need me at all, just come down and grab me from the geek squad."

"Of course, Mr. Stark." She said with a smile as her boss left and headed down to Research, Design and Development.

Some time later, Obadiah had silently crept into Tony's outer office. Mary was out for the day and Obadiah thumbed through some of the phone messages for Tony on the desk and pocketed a few of them before turning the corner.

"Pepper, where's Tony?" he asked Pepper with a smile.

"He's down with the engineers in Development." Pepper replied. "Is there something I can do for you, Mr. Stane?"

"No, that's fine. I'll just go down and see Tony. Seems like he has forgotten that he's not down with the working stiffs anymore. Thank you, Pepper."

"Good afternoon, Mr. Stane."

Down in Research, Design and Development, Obadiah found about ten of Stark Industries most intelligent employees, including the CEO, all tinkering around with the guidance and detonation systems on a missile while hard rock and heavy metal was blasting from a stereo in the corner. Three of them were reconstructing a circuit breaker. Four were building a pressure sensitive triggering system. The last three were tweaking an additional pulse explosion that would go off after the primary detonation. It actually took a while for Obadiah to actually spot Tony since here was where he blended in; among the intelligent and young engineers which many graduated with Tony and many he hired personally. Then he spotted the one moving to the driving bass as he worked on the pulse generator.

"What are you doing, Tony?"

"Working." Tony replied simply without looking up. "Some of us actually do that around here, you know."

"Yes, but you aren't in this department any more."

"I am aware of that but like my father, I like being hands on at times." Tony replied as he was fine tuning a connection. "Some of us actually get grease under our fingernails and don't give a damn. Some of us find this enjoyable."

"There are more important things you need to be doing, Tony."

"Such as?" Tony asked as he finally looked up with a less than amused look on his face. "We are primarily a weapons manufacturer and that is what I am doing."

"How many meeting are you missing to do this?"

"None. I was done for the day so I am doing something I actually enjoy. I am an engineer if you remember right." Tony snapped back as he went back to looking down at the circuit he was working on.

"I expect you to look at me when I am speaking to you." Obadiah spat back as he walked over and forcibly lifted Tony's head to meet his gaze.

Tony pulled away and looked down again. "I expect you to not treat me like a child, which I am not any more." he growled at Obadiah.

"I'll stop treating you like a child when you stop acting like one."

"I could fire you for that." Tony said quietly as he soldered two things together. "Insulting your boss…what would Dad say?"

"Knock it off Tony." Obadiah spat. "Why were phone messages for me found on your secretary's desk?" he said, pulling out the message slips.

"Last time I checked, those had MY name on them so maybe I should ask you why you are taking things from my office." Tony said in retort. "How long have you been in contact with Congressman Wilson without my knowledge?"

"Since you were an undergraduate at MIT," Obadiah stated. "This company has had business deals before you came along. You father did do a few things here."

"I know my father had workings with congress here but I would have thought with the Afghanistan conflict over, Congressman Wilson wouldn't still be calling. I am still especially curious as to why he was calling you and not me?"

"Because Charles Wilson doesn't have the faintest clue in hell who you are and he knows me and will only work with me." Obadiah said smugly.

"Then what is he calling about? Is he still trying to send munitions over there?" Tony asked and received an almost shocked look from Obadiah. "I do watch the news or read a paper on occasion."

"My business with the Congressman is just that, my business." Obadiah stated smugly.

"No it is not. It is the business of this company and therefore also mine." Tony countered. "I do not like the idea of sending weapons to a country in veritable ruin only so it could possibly come back to haunt us. Do you even know where these things are going?"

"I would watch what you say, Tony. Some of those dollars allow you to work on the toys you are playing with now and I would not be insulting a member of congress."

"Even one who drinks more than I do and gets around even more." Tony said with a small laugh. "Hell, he has more eye candy working for him than I do as well and he admits it. At least I haven't had the joy of dealing with a federal prosecutor like he has. A New York one no less, the worst sharks of them all. I have met Rudolph Giuliani and I wouldn't want to meet up with him on his turf."

"Enough, Tony. I don't want to hear it. You have only run this company for three years while I have been here since you were still playing under the desk in your father's office. I think I still know a little more about this than you do so I suggest you leave this to me."

"And I suggest to you that you stop trying to run my company." Tony ground out as he put what he was working on down and got right up in Obadiah's face. "I already said this once before. Remember whose name is on the side of the building and if you can't handle it, you know where the door is." Tony picked up his keys and turned to one of the engineers he was working with. "If my assistant calls down, tell her I went in search of some clarity." He stated angrily as he walked out the door and jumped into his car and sped off.

It was early evening by the time Pepper had finished the guest list and she wanted to go over it with Tony but he had never come back up. She knew very well how he could get involved when he was working on something, especially something mechanical. She headed down to Research and Development to see when he was going to drag himself away from the toys.

Once she got down there though, there were only the engineers and no Tony.

"Where did Mr. Stark go off to?" she asked one of them politely.

"He said he was going in search of some clarity after speaking with Mr. Stane some four hours ago. He told us to tell you when you came looking for him, assuming you would understand." One of the engineers stated. "He seemed just a bit on edge when he left."

Pepper thought about it for a bit and this one had her stumped, even after a year working for him. "Thank you for your help." She said before going back upstairs to gather her things and then begin the search.

Pepper headed to his house first as it started to rain, thinking he wanted the solace of his workshop, especially after dealing with Obadiah. She could sense the tension every time the two of them had to be in the room together. When she arrived at the house, it was still dark and his car was not in the garage.

"Jarvis? Has Mr. Stark contacted you?" Pepper asked, a bit of worry in her voice.

"No, Ms. Potts. Mr. Stark hasn't been here since the two of you left this morning."

"Would you know where he would go if he was in search of clarity?"

"No, Ms. Potts. I do not. Perhaps you should call Captain Rhodes and ask him."

Pepper had only spoken to James Rhodes a few times and she did not like disturbing him if it wasn't necessary but this was an emergency. She dialed quickly, trying to calm down.

"Rhodes here."

"Captain Rhodes, it's Pepper Potts, Mr. Stark's assistant…"

"How are you Pepper?"

"I am well but Mr. Stark has gone missing."

"What do you mean he has gone missing?" Rhodey asked, instantly concerned whenever he got a call like this.

"After speaking with Mr. Stane, he left work saying he was in search of some clarity. Do you know where he could have gone?"

"Was that what he said exactly?" Rhodey asked.

"As far as I know of. One of the engineers conveyed the message."

"I know exactly where he went." Rhodey said confidently. "He went to the cemetery where his parents are buried."

"Are you sure about that?"

"Almost one hundred percent certain. Whenever Obadiah gets on his case, he goes to their gravesite and in a round about way works it out by talking to his father. In reality, he's talking to himself but he manages to sort it out." Rhodey explained.

"Which one is it?" Pepper asked, a little bit relieved.

"It wasn't in the dossier that you got on Tony when you were hired?" Rhodey asked with a small laugh. "I thought that thing had everything about him in it."

"That novel that I did get did not have most of the important stuff, most of that I found out on my own."

"I'll pick you up in a few minutes. The cemetery is easy enough to find but the gravestones are pretty far in and it's easy to get lost." Rhodey said before hanging up.

The rain was coming down much harder by the time Rhodey had picked Pepper up and they started on their way to Pacific Crest Cemetery in Redondo Beach. Tony had picked that one because it was close to the beach and a little further away from the main city.

Rhodey drove through the winding roads until he reached near the back where they found the graves of Howard and Maria Stark. The black marble stone was easily visible from the road but it was hard to get to. Right near the stones and under the knight that seemed to guard over them, soaked from the rain, was Tony. He was seated on the ground next to his father's side of the grave with his back to the road, oblivious to almost anything that was going on around him.

"I told you he would be here." Rhodey told Pepper while they were still in the truck. "How long has he been here?"

"Probably going on five hours." Pepper said as she looked at her boss through the windows. "Should we say anything?"

"I'll get him. I have had to do this before and I know how to do this without upsetting him." Rhodey said as he pulled his jacket out from behind the seat. "Take it you haven't gone with him here yet?"

"Was I supposed to?"

"Only if he asks." Rhodey stated as he pulled his jacket on and stepped out into the rain. He walked up to Tony slowly and put his hand on his friend's shoulder. "Are you aware that it's raining…a lot…out here?"

"Very much so." Tony said quietly. "So who sent the cavalry this time?"

"Pepper did and she's sitting in the truck. She was worried when you just up and vanished."

"I needed to get away from things for a bit. Obie just pissed me off and I had to leave." Tony confessed.

"Same old stuff or did he do something new?" Rhodey asked as he helped Tony off the wet ground.

"Same old crap…treating me like a child and getting sick pleasure out of embarrassing me. You would think after this long he would get tired of it." Tony stated as got up and cracked his back from sitting in the same spot for so long. "Is Pepper mad at me?" he whispered to Rhodey.

"No, she was just worried about you." Rhodey told him. "And when have you ever cared if someone was mad at you?"

"Since I got her and realized she was the same girl I saw on Rodeo Drive at Christmas when I was eighteen. If I piss her off, she gives it back just as good as I do. It's like fighting with me." Tony admitted.

"Well it took long enough for someone to knock some sense into you. Does she keep your ass out of trouble as well?" Rhodey said as they started to walk to the truck.

"She tries to but no one can stop that. You should know that most of all" Tony stated as he got back to his car. "Ask Pepper if she wants to ride back with me so she can make sure I go home."

Pepper didn't need Rhodey to ask her. As soon as she heard Tony's voice, she stepped out of the truck. "Can you tell me next time you decide to go find some peace?" she asked as she got into the passenger side of his car.

"Of course, Ms. Potts. I'll get you a mobile phone so you can really keep track of me." Tony said as he slipped behind the wheel. "Actually that works both ways." He said aloud to himself. "I can get a hold of you whenever I need you as well." He said with a laugh as they drove off.

The next Friday night was the night of the Masquerade ball for the Maria Stark foundation and Tony had insisted that Pepper get ready at his house, hoping that he would get a peek if she needed help doing a button up or something like that. He was pacing around down in the living room, actually practicing with the props he had with the gloves he was wearing. Dressed in a tuxedo with a white bow tie instead of black and a black velvet cloak and top hat, he did pull off the magician bit. He even had a stuffed rabbit hiding in the hat, the spring loaded flowers, never ending scarves and a wand. He was actually doing fairly well until Pepper came down the stairs and he got distracted.

As the magician's assistant, Pepper was in a very short purple and black satin dress with a lace up bodice and long sheer black sleeves. It had a black train skirt that trailed to the floor behind the much shorter main skirt. Tony was very distracted by the black thigh high fishnets that she was wearing and the black stilettos.

"Is this okay?" Pepper asked tentatively, definitely out of her comfort zone.

"Most definitely. You are going to show me up like that." Tony said as he offered her his arm and then flipped out the flowers with a smile. "I promise you will have at least a little fun here."

"I thought I was working, Mr. Stark."

"It's Tony tonight, please." He reminded her. "And this is work slash fun."

It was half past seven when Tony and Pepper entered the grand ballroom that had been transformed into the Masquerade Ball with the theme of Nightmares and Dreamscapes. Lit by candles and black lights and filled with fog, the room had a definite macabre feel about it with fire dancers and fortune tellers and everything from angels to werewolves walking around. The music set the eerie tone even further.

"Why is your mother's fundraiser always a costume ball?" Pepper asked.

"Because she loved Halloween and didn't get to do much with it." Tony said as he took Pepper's hand and led her to the dance floor before she could protest. "I like it because I get to be someone else for the night." He told her as the music came up into a dark waltz.

"We shouldn't be doing this." Pepper whispered as she tried to follow Tony's lead.

"Why? No one will know who you are and I like it. Aren't you supposed to do anything that I ask?" Tony replied as he spun her.

"Yes…but…"

"But what? Can't you relax for just one night?" Tony asked as he went back to dancing with her.

"But what will people think?"

"When have you seen me care what people think?" Tony said as he hushed her. "Am I going to have to do more of my magic tricks? I'll have to get my bunny out."

Pepper started to laugh and then realized that she was enjoying herself as they waltzed smoothly through the people. "As long as it isn't a playboy bunny." She said with a laugh.

"After Good and Evil last year…no more of those bunnies." Tony said with a laugh as he spun Pepper again. "I can't stand the aftermath. I like being able to walk upright."


	13. Chapter 13

April to June was always a hectic time of year for Stark Industries. Not only was it the time of year when new product lines came out and mid year reports, it was also the time period that included a certain CEO's birthday and the company's anniversary. Of course, guess who got the joy of planning the entirety of the events…one particular Personal Assistant.

One morning, Pepper's desk was already covered when Tony strolled in and threw a brochure from a hotel on her desk.

"What is this for?" Pepper inquired as she picked up the brochure and handed it back to Tony.

"That is my idea for the fiftieth anniversary celebration." Tony said with a smirk. "Instead of the big boring gala which we do all the time, I thought that all the suits from here and New York get a party instead. What better party than a vacation in the Bahamas."

"You want everyone to pay for a vacation?" Pepper inquired.

"No, I'll pick up the tab." Tony said, waving her off. "All the suits and a guest of their choosing for two weeks of fun in the sun and the Caribbean Sea. What do you think?"

Pepper thumbed through the brochure and noticed that it included a casino and open bar all the time. "I think it is a good idea. Everyone will probably enjoy it and it just happens to coincide with your thirtieth birthday party. Obadiah may not think so though."

Tony cringed a bit at the sound of Obadiah's name. "Sort of presents for me. But bad image Potts. Obie in a bathing suit. Ick. Why did you have to put that in my head? Maybe he won't want to go."

"It was not intentional, Mr. Stark." Pepper said with a small laugh. "Shall I make the reservations?"

"Go right ahead. Make sure I have the best suite and that it has room for both you and me." Tony said with that sly smile before heading back to his office before Pepper could protest.

A few days later, three planes, one from Los Angeles, one from New York and Tony's, were winging their way to the Bahamas. When they landed in Nassau, Tony was greeted to a surprise, one Major James Rhodes.

"Rhodey, what in hell are you doing here?" Tony exclaimed with a smile.

"Pepper invited me." Rhodey told him. "One, because I am the military liaison and two so your best friend is here for your birthday."

"I knew she was the best for a reason." Tony said with a laugh as one of his bodyguards was getting his and Pepper's luggage off the plane.

Just as they were ready to get into the waiting limo, the director for operations in New York, Wesley Bonaventure, a classic yuppie as Tony called him, stopped Tony.

Tony was civil enough to Bonaventure but they never really liked each other. Bonaventure started to work at Stark Industries when Howard Stark had the big office and worked his way up the corporate ladder like a good junior executive should. There was no secret that Wesley had his eye on that big desk and he nearly imploded when Tony got it from out of Research and Development. Nepotism definitely pissed Bonaventure off.

"So is it the usual bet, Stark? Los Angeles versus New York." He asked.

"Of course it is. One thousand dollars to the winner out of the pool games, beach volleyball, drinking, and anything else we can come up with." Tony said smugly since he made sure L.A. almost always won. "How about we make it a little more interesting this time? The losers have to be part of the entertainment on the last night."

"Deal. I can't wait to make you eat those words." Bonaventure said before heading to the hotel.

Pepper caught part of the conversation and got concerned. "What were you two plotting?"

"Just a friendly little competition among the coasts. We always do this and all but once, California takes the crown." Tony stated with a bit of ice underlying his voice as he slid into the limo. "Personally, I just like seeing Bonaventure knocked on his ass as much as possible."

"When was the one time that New York won?" Pepper as took a seat next to Tony and across from Rhodey.

"Twelve years ago." Tony said as he leaned back against the seat as the car took off. "Because I wasn't there."

No sooner that they arrived at the Atlantis on Paradise Island, Tony was already gone. Pepper had barely finished getting the keys when she noticed Tony had already made a break for it.

"Where did he go?" she asked Rhodey.

"Swim up bar should answer that question." Rhodey said with a laugh at Pepper's frustration at her boss. "And to think, I have been dealing with him for a lot longer."

After Pepper got the luggage unpacked in the ridiculously large suite that Tony had been given and gotten changed into her swimsuit and headed to the pool, Tony already had at least four girls around him and a beer in his hand as he was charming his way with all four of them. Pepper saw this and knew she would be taking out some of the trash later.

"Hey Pepper! Come on in. Have some fun." Tony called out to her before turning back to the bartender. "Can I get a lava flow for the lady?" he asked and was quickly presented with a piña colada and strawberry daiquiri mixture which he handed over to Pepper. "Here you go. You have to catch up here." He said with a smile.

"I could never catch up with you, Mr. Stark." Pepper said as she swam up to the bar.

"Tony. We're on vacation, remember." Tony corrected her. "Pepper, may I introduce Rose, Daisy, Violet, and Iris." He said as he pointed to the four girls that were surrounding him.

Pepper greeted them in a professionally polite tone but in reality she knew where all of them would end up and she would see each of the flower girls again.

As the afternoon progressed and the beer bottles started adding up, Pepper was trying to keep more of an eye on Tony. At least twice but it could have been three times, he had disappeared on her. When he had reappeared, there was always one less girl around him and one more she had to kick out of the suite before they got too comfortable. It was getting closer to dinner time when he disappeared for the fourth time. Pepper was wondering how he had enough stamina for four times in one day as she picked up the towels and headed to the suite at the top of the hotel.

Pepper had just stepped into the room when she heard the bathroom door close and the shower turn on. She was grateful that she had missed the main event and started to shake out the towels a bit before she was called to duty again.

She was just about to sit down on the couch when the bathroom door cracked open and a decidedly less than clothed Tony popped his head out. Thankfully, Pepper could only see from his chest up.

"Pepper, could you…if you don't mind…" he called out as he gestured to the third bedroom before ducking back into the bathroom.

"Of course, Mr. Stark." Pepper sighed as she pushed herself off of the couch and headed to the third bedroom. Inside, she saw flower girl number four still lazing around in the very expensive sheets.

"I am just waiting for Tony to come back." She explained with a stupid smile.

"Unfortunately, Mr. Stark will not be coming back any time soon." Pepper said politely.

"I'll just wait for him then."

"I am sorry but I can't allow that for security reasons." Pepper said with a smile. "Have a good evening."

The girl was obviously shocked but slowly got dressed and left the suite, hesitating at the door the Pepper held open for her just a little too long.

After he heard the door to the suite click, Tony came out of the bathroom with a towel around his waist and a devilish grin on his face. "Thanks Pepper. That one was particularly clingy. Now go get dolled up for dinner." He called out before heading to his bedroom, the one that had not been used four times in one day, to get dressed, leaving Pepper grateful that she had invited Rhodey along so she did not have to deal with Tony alone.

Dinner was peaceful enough, just Tony, Pepper and Rhodey with no random girls floating around. It was after dinner when the tempest started.

"Alright ladies and gentlemen…time for the competition to begin. Let's start it off right…the drinking contest." Bonaventure called out. "One from each side, shot for shot until we can't anymore. Who of you California lightweights want to go up against me?"

Tony was the only one who stood up.

"Pepper? You're in the suite with him, right?" Rhodey whispered to her.

"Yes I am."

"I'll help you carry him up later and I hope you are prepared for a long night for him worshipping the porcelain god." Rhodey added as he stood up and off to the side to keep an eye on Tony.

"Stark? You think you can out drink me?"

"I can drink you under the table easily." Tony countered. "I am so sure of it; I will even let you pick what we drink."

"Well, since it is the Caribbean, I think rum would be appropriate."

Tony shrugged as he sat across from Bonaventure. "I prefer more expensive stuff but bring it on. Twenty shot sets. Clear the first set and then it's reloaded until we fall."

"It will be a pleasure to see you on the floor first, Stark."

"Only in your dreams." Tony replied as he signaled the bartender for forty shots.

Both of them had managed to get through two rounds of twenty each before they started slowing down. The crowd that started to gather was generally amazed that both Tony and Wesley were still upright. On the third round each, Tony was still knocking back each shot and flipping the glass over smoothly. Bonaventure was starting to have difficulty turning the glass over. Only half way through the last round, Bonaventure slid to the floor. Tony stood up and downed one more shot as a show of his victory to all the cheers before starting to sway on his feet.

"Let's go, Tony. Time for bed." Rhodey said quietly as he slipped in and caught Tony and took him back upstairs to his suite with Pepper behind them.

"I am perfectly fine. I don't need to leave yet." Tony slurred out as they got off the elevators.

"Sure you are. That's why you look like the leaning Tower of Pisa right now." Rhodey said with a laugh as he followed Pepper into the suite and tossed Tony down on to his bed. "Do you need any more help with him?" he asked Pepper.

"No. I am used to this by now. Thanks James." Pepper said as she started taking off Tony's shoes.

"Let me know how he is in the morning. I am sure he won't be feeling too well and I am going to let him have it for that." Rhodey said, laughing as he left.

As Tony's head lolled around in the bed, Pepper started to get him undressed.

"If you wanted to get me undressed and in bed, all you had to do was ask." Tony garbled out as Pepper undid his shirt and slid it off of him and then started on his pants.

"I don't make it a habit of being intimate with people who are drunk out of their skulls." Pepper said dryly as she set his clothes on the chair and pulled back the blankets on the bed. "Go to sleep." She ordered him.

Tony managed to get himself near the blankets and was just about to slip out of consciousness when his stomach decided not. He bolted upright and staggered into the bathroom, just making it before he threw up for the first time.

By the fifth time she heard him retching, Pepper went into the bathroom with a cool cloth and a glass of water. As Tony threw up, she wiped down his back with the cool cloth and let him rest his head against her legs, coaxing a little water into him as she could in between bouts of nausea. It was well after one in the morning when Pepper finally got Tony back into bed to let him sleep off the rest of his binge drinking victory.

The next morning when Tony woke up, he was a little slower moving and had one hell of a headache but he still made it down to the beach with a big bottle of water to start the day with. He fell into a nice beach chair and lounged for most of the morning in the sun. Bonaventure didn't show up until the afternoon.

"That's another point to me." Tony called out as he saw Bonaventure stagger to the beach. "I made it out here first." The only response that Tony got was a list of curse words thrown at him until Bonaventure's head stopped pounding.

It was two o'clock when the gauntlet was thrown down again – pool Olympics and then beach volleyball. Tony was ready for round two and Bonaventure was getting there. Pool Olympics consisted of a relay race where you had to pop balloons on the pool deck, a two person chicken fight, a scavenger hunt on the pool deck, name that tune and finally pool basketball. First, the chicken fight.

Tony quickly grabbed Pepper and dragged her into the pool.

"I am not doing this with you." She firmly protested.

"Who else would I use but you?" Tony countered. "I promise I will not let you fall and I will enjoy watching you knock that New York bitch of Bonaventure's into the pool. Please, Pepper?"

"Well, since you asked nicely." Pepper sighed as Tony ducked under water and came up so she was sitting on his shoulders, a position that was putting Tony in a very uncomfortable situation. As he held on to her legs and he could feel her body against his, his responded in turn and it was a bit distracting. He was a little relieved that Pepper won quickly. Tony lowered himself into the water slowly so Pepper could get down and then she hugged him in victory.

"That was actually fun." She exclaimed. "Are you doing the scavenger hunt?"

"I'll let you do that one." Tony said as he tried to hide the source of his embarrassment under the water.

"Are you sure?" Pepper asked with concern.

Tony nodded. He did not need to make all the other guys jealous. "I'm saving my energy for the relay." He lied.

New York unfortunately took the scavenger hunt but California came back with the version of Name that Tune. Then it came down to the eight on eight relay races and pool basketball. Tony again dragged Pepper and Rhodey this time to take down Bonaventure. Both came down to the end. California edged out New York in the relays by an arm length, Rhodey's arm length and New York took basketball by one point.

"Ready for the volleyball court, Stark?" Bonaventure called out as he spun the ball on one finger.

"Ready to steal California's victory." Tony called back as all the guys headed to the beach.

Two hours and four matches later with California claiming victory in the end, Tony and Pepper were back up in the suite with a first aid kit. Tony sat on the couch, flinching as the antiseptic touched the scrapes on both of his forearms from diving in the sand and on both of his knees.

"Take it easy, Pepper. That hurts." Tony hissed.

"Did you have to dive for it?"

"Yes. We won didn't we?"

"And you have the battle wounds to prove it." Pepper said as she put away the first aid kit, turning back to see a yawn slip out of Tony. "Maybe you shouldn't have partied so much last night." She hinted to him.

"I have done worse." Tony said through another yawn. "I'm going to take a little nap. Wake me up in about two hours." He said before going to his bedroom.

In that brief two hour time, Pepper realized how much fun in the sun could cost her as she saw the flaming red skin on her back and shoulders. "How am I going to deal with this?" she thought to herself.

After dinner, the sunburn that Pepper had was starting to hurt and it was getting harder to hide from Tony, especially when she whimpered when he put his hand lightly on her back on the way back to the suite.

"Pepper, what's wrong?" he asked with concern.

"Nothing. I'm fine." Pepper said as little too quickly.

"And you're lying." Tony countered as he felt the heat radiating through her clothes. "You got sunburned, didn't you?"

"Just a little bit." Pepper shyly admitted.

"Do you want me to help you put aloe on it? There is no way you can reach your back." Tony offered genuinely.

"No. I'll do it." Pepper said too quickly again.

"How? You can barely move now." Tony stated. "I promise I won't try anything. Just let me help you. You helped me."

Pepper looked at her boss carefully and did not see the scheming that was usually there when he looked at her. He was being truthful. But how could she do this without letting him see her undressed?

Tony saw the wheels in her brain working as he got a towel and the aloe out of the bathroom. He handed her the towel and turned around to face the wall. "I promise I won't look no matter how much I want to. Put that around you so it opens in the back and lay down on the bed."

"You promise that you are not peeking?" she asked as she took off her shirt and bra and draped the towel over her and lay down on the bed.

"I promise and it is taking all my will power to keep this one." Tony replied as he turned around once he heard her lay down. He poured some of the aloe into his hands and gently worked it into her back and shoulders, apologizing every time Pepper winced in pain under his calloused fingers.

Pepper was surprised at how gentle Tony was being and the aloe did make her back and shoulders feel better. "Thank you." She said quietly.

"You're welcome, Potts." Tony said as he wiped off his hands. "Now, take a cool bath and relax. You're off the clock for the rest of the night."

Pepper wrapped the towel around her and looked up at Tony in shock. "What are you going to be doing?"

"Nothing that gets me in trouble," Tony said with his hands raised in surrender. "Sleeping."


	14. Chapter 14

When a phone rings in the middle of the night, it is never a good sign. People always wait for good news until daylight. Bad news usually can't wait that long. So when Pepper Potts' phone started ringing at half past two in the morning, she got a bad feeling as she picked up the phone when her sleepy mind finally registered it.

"Potts, I need you to come pick me up." The voice came from the other end. It sounded ragged and not quite normal.

"Mr. Stark? Are you aware of what time it is?" she asked as she turned on the light. "I thought you drove to the benefit."

"My car was impounded." Tony blurted out. "Please, come and get me. I just want to go home."

Pepper's mind really kicked on now. He sounded desperate and Tony Stark never sounded desperate. "What happened?" she asked quickly.

"I can't really talk about it now. There are too many people staring right now. Just come and get me and I will explain it."

"Are you alright?" Pepper asked again, trying to assess the situation because the worst possible things were going through her head. He's been arrested. He got into an accident while driving drunk.

"Potts, I have just spent the better part of the last two hours filling out police reports and medical forms." Tony shouted at her, his patience was beyond gone. "I am tired of repeating myself. Just come and get me."

Pepper flinched a bit when he screamed at her on the other end of the phone. Something had to be wrong and he wasn't telling her and it scared her. She was the one person he really did not yell at. "Where are you?"

"Cedar-Sinai Emergency Room."

Then the phone went dead.

Pepper quickly threw on a pair of jeans and a sweater and drove nearly as fast as her boss has a bad habit of doing to the hospital. The worst images were still plaguing her. Tony, mangled and bleeding or sitting there in handcuffs while he gets patched up. She ran in from the parking lot and quickly started to scan the room for Tony among the mass of injured and ill people. Her eyes quickly focused on a forlorn figure sitting in the back corner of the waiting room with a black tuxedo jacket on the chair next to him. His tie was hanging undone around his neck. His shirt was untucked and unbuttoned and both his tuxedo shirt and the t-shirt underneath had blood on them. His elbows were resting on his knees and holding his head as the world seemed to crash down on him.

"You're bleeding! Are you alright? Have you been seen to?" Pepper rambled out as she ran over to Tony and started to check him over.

"It's not mine." Tony said quietly without looking up.

"Excuse me?" Pepper asked when she didn't quite hear him.

"I said it's not mine." Tony repeated as he finally looked up. He was pale and a bit shaky as he stood up.

"Then whose blood is it?"

"Happy's." Tony whispered as he picked up his jacket and went over to the desk. "I want to be told immediately of any change, good or bad. Understood?"

"Yes sir." The nurse replied as Tony walked out of the emergency room with Pepper.

"How did this happen?"

"He saved my life." Tony whispered as he slid into the passenger seat of Pepper's car and leaned back and closed his eyes.

"Tony, please. Tell me what happened. You can't say something like that and not expect me to worry." Pepper pleaded as she started to drive.

Tony took a deep breath to try to center himself before he spoke. "Just as we were getting out of the benefit, Happy heard gunshots. A few of them flew near the car. He jumped in between me and whoever was shooting and then pushed me in the car. It was only after we started driving did either one of us notice that Happy had been shot and it was bleeding quite heavily. He was starting to black out and I drove to the emergency room. Once he was inside, that's when the cops came. They took the car as evidence and made me fill out all these reports. They just don't give a damn about the people they are actually dealing with at the moment."

"How's Happy?"

Tony swallowed hard. "Nothing serious. It was a clean wound as they called it." He said, struggling to get it out as if guilt for having his life saved was getting to him. "Pepper, pull over." He choked out.

"Why?" she asked as she tried to look for a spot to safely pull over.

"Because I am going to be sick," Tony forced out.

Pepper pulled over the road by a wooded area and Tony pushed the door open quickly and lost what was left of the contents of his stomach in the bushes. She thought it had to be almost painful as Tony doubled over as his stomach rebelled.

After a few moments, Tony nearly crawled back to the car. He lay back in the seat and barely looked at Pepper, almost like he was embarrassed for getting sick from fear and guilt.

The rest of the drive was silent. Pepper looked at the man that was seated next to her and it did not seem like the Tony Stark that she knew and it was unnerving. The Tony Stark she knew did not get embarrassed. He would walk around completely nude in his house and not bat an eye about it but get amused at how Pepper blushed with it. The Tony Stark she knew did not have fear. He would make even the most feared military officer bow to his whim if he wanted to. And the Tony Stark she knew did not have guilt. This was a man who made and sold weapons of varying degrees for a living and did not think twice about it.

Once back at the mansion, Pepper collected Tony's jacket for him as he started into the house. Jarvis opened the door for him and turned up the lights without a command.

"Welcome home, sir."

Tony was heading in one direction as he entered the house, right towards his liquor cabinet.

"Tony, have a seat on the couch and stay away from that cabinet." Pepper nearly ordered him.

Tony shot her a confused look but did as she asked and flopped down on the couch. "I really need something to drink, Pepper."

"I'll get you something but I will not have you upsetting your stomach even further with scotch after you have just thrown up." Pepper told him as she started for the kitchen.

Tony silently corrected her by holding up two fingers as he kicked off his shoes.

"Twice? You got sick twice?" Pepper asked. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"It's embarrassing." Tony protested. "I am a weapons manufacturer and the first time gunshots go off near me, I get sick to my stomach. How does that look?"

"Like you are human." Pepper said as she shoved a steaming mug into Tony's hands. "Humans are allowed to be afraid in a situation like that."

"It is still embarrassing though." Tony stated again as he looked down at the mug in his hands. "What the hell is this?"

"It's herbal tea with a few drops of peppermint oil. It will help to settle your stomach." Pepper told him before she headed upstairs.

"I was kind of hoping for something a little stronger than this." Tony called up to her.

"Not a chance, Mr. Stark. Drink it." Pepper called back from the master bathroom.

Pepper came down a few minutes later to find the mug empty and Tony trying to get comfortable on the couch but not succeeding. She could see that he was tired but he could not relax.

"Why don't you go soak in your hot tub for a little while? I have it all set up for you." She said gently.

Tony pushed himself back up to a sitting position and made sure he had heard her right. She actually got his hot tub ready for him? Normally, Pepper didn't go near it since she knew very well what usually went on in there. "Thank you," he said quietly before heading up to his bathroom.

Tony stuck his hand in the water first to test the temperature and it was quite comfortably set. He stripped off his clothes and slid into the warm bubbling water, letting the bubbles beat away the tension in his body.

"Jarvis?"

"Yes sir?"

"Could you ask Pepper to bring me up a bottle of water?" Tony asked as rested his head against the side and let his eyes close.

"Certainly sir." Jarvis replied and then a silent pause. "Sir, Ms. Potts says she will be right up but she is concerned about your current state of attire."

"Why?"

"She says she does not necessarily want to see what is not supposed to be seen."

"Not like she hasn't seen everything already." Tony said dryly as he shifted so his back was to the door so unless she purposely tried to look, Pepper wouldn't see much.

Just as Jarvis said, Pepper knocked on his bathroom door not five minutes later with a cold bottle of water for him. She set the bottle in his open hand, picked up the discarded clothes off of the floor and tried to sneak out as to not disturb him.

"Pepper, did you add something to the water?" Tony asked as he heard her footsteps heading towards the door.

"No, why?'

"I smell something different in here."

"I put a little lavender in here. It's supposed to be relaxing." Pepper explained as she pointed to the small dish she left on the sink with the purple flowers. "Don't you like it?"

"I find motor oil relaxing."

"No you don't. Motor oil excites you. It does not calm you down. Matter of fact, nothing calms you down."

"There are some things." Tony insisted.

"Like what?" Pepper said as she made sure she stayed by the door.

"Vanilla," Tony whispered.

Pepper honestly wasn't expecting that. "Is there a reason why?"

"My mother had either perfume or shampoo that always smelled like vanilla. I can vaguely remember it from when I was little."

"I'll remember that for next time. Will that be all Mr. Stark?" Pepper said as she made a mental note.

"That will be all, Ms. Potts."

"I'll be downstairs if you need me." She told him as she ducked out of the bathroom and went back to the living room.

It was nearly four in the morning by the time Tony came back downstairs. He was in a t-shirt and pajama pants and seemed to be dragging his comforter down with him. He didn't say a word as he flopped down on his couch and wrapped the blanket around him.

"You can stay here tonight, if you like." Tony whispered as he was clearly burying himself and looking far younger than his thirty years would have said.

"Thank you, Mr. Stark. I will have to run home though to get what I need for tomorrow." Pepper said sweetly since she could tell he actually wasn't hitting on her right now.

"Whatever you need…" Tony said sleepily as his eyes were quickly dropping. "And it's Tony…"

Pepper did not have time to correct herself because Tony was already snoring before she could get the words out.

The next morning, she had gotten up by eight and ran over to her apartment to shower and gather her things without Tony even noticing. He was still sound asleep on the couch both times.

Pepper started right away in rescheduling his appointments, figuring he would need to relax just a bit after what happened the night before. By the time she had finished, Tony was just starting to stir under his cocoon that he had made the night before.

"Good morning, Mr. Stark." Pepper said with a smile.

"Hi. You're up early." Tony said through a yawn as he rubbed his eyes.

"I always am. You keep me on my toes." Pepper said with a laugh as she went to the kitchen to grab her boss' coffee. "I have cleared your schedule for the day so you can take it easy."

"I want you to schedule one appointment for later this afternoon with Research and Development." Tony stated as he sipped at his coffee to get the caffeine buzz he lived off of.

"Is there a reason I should give them?"

"I have a job for them. Three o'clock." He stated as he finished off the coffee and headed upstairs to take a shower.

At three, Tony was already in the basement of Stark Industries, setting up his demonstration when the Research and Development team showed up, flanked by Obadiah.

"Good afternoon. Before I get to what I want you all to do, I have a demonstration." Tony explained to the confused geniuses before him. "This is a typical bulletproof vest, worn by law enforcement officials around the world and proven to stop a .357 magnum. Do we all agree?"

They nodded as Tony attached the vest to a make shift shooting range and then opened a cardboard box in front of him. "This is your standard nine millimeter hand gun, favored by cops and gang members alike. This vest is supposed to stop a bullet from this gun, correct?"

Tony again received nods and Obadiah was definitely getting more interested as Tony cocked the nine millimeter and fired one round off at the bulletproof vest. After he shot, he pulled the vest in and showed that the bullet went straight through. Tony then took one bullet out of the gun.

"But this thing is useless against these." Tony explained as he held the bullet out in his hand. "On the street, these are called cop killers. We know them as armor piercing rounds. One of these was pulled out of my bodyguard's arm last night. My challenge to you is to improve the body armor to be able to resist these." Tony stated as he picked up the box again. "But why stop there? The point of body armor is to protect the wearer so I want it to stop pretty much anything." He proceeded to pour a variety of bullets of many sizes on to a table. "Fifty caliber, thirty odd sixes, shot gun shells. But there's more. How about grenades, rockets, missiles? I want this armor to be so impenetrable that God himself couldn't get through it to kill you. That is your challenge. I expect designs and prototypes as soon as possible."

Tony then left everything on the table and turned around and walked out without any further comment. His orders were clear and Obadiah swore up and down that he just saw Howard Stark walk out of that door.


	15. Chapter 15

Tony was relaxing in the back of his limo as it pulled away from Capital Hill. Washington was always so draining and Tony was looking forward to catching a quick nap before he hit the airport. He was just getting comfortable as his cell phone rang.

"How did it go Tony?" Obadiah said charmingly.

"Well Obie, I have bad news for you…" Tony started.

"What the hell do you mean you have bad news?" Obadiah roared. "I had those deals locked and you go in there and…"

"You know that record you and Dad had?" Tony said, distracting Obadiah from the tirade he was about to let loose. "You know the one – the Hat Trick as it was called?"

"Yes I remember it. What are you getting at, Tony?"

"How much was it worth?"

"Nine billion dollars."

"Well…" Tony started, purposely hesitating to build suspense and Obadiah's temper. "I just hit the Grand Slam."

"You did what?" Obadiah questioned.

"Four contracts for all four branches of the military in the American, European and Asian centers for the grand total of seventeen billion dollars with the rights to do additional research with any we have left which could add to the profitability."

Obadiah was speechless for a moment but Tony could swear that he heard a smile form. "You're not joking are you?"

"I can hear the stock prices rising now. Can't you hear it Obie? It sounds like every slot machine in Vegas and Atlantic City just all hit at once. All that money pouring into our coffers." Tony said smugly.

"Well done, my boy. I am sure the Board will be very pleased with this news. I'll talk to you later in the week."

Tony turned off the phone and stretched out and was just about to nod off again when he remembered one more thing. He picked up the phone and hit his one speed dial.

"Pepper? Get some champagne. The best. I don't care if it has to be flown in from France. We have to celebrate. I'll be home in five hours."

When Tony's limo pulled up to the mansion, he ran out of the car and into the house, sufficiently startling Pepper when he picked her up and spun her around in his excitement.

"What has gotten you into such a good mood?' Pepper squeaked out as he lifted her clear off the ground and sending the documents she had in her hands flying..

Tony set her down and went over to his bar and pulled out two champagne flutes. He took the bottle of Bollinger's Vieille Vignes Francaises, which runs at 750 dollars a bottle, out of the ice, popped the cork and poured a glass for himself and one for Pepper.

"I am in such a good mood because I just scored a seventeen billion dollar deal for Stark Industries, beating my father's and Obie's old record." Tony said as he held up the glass in a toast before taking a sip. "Wow. That is worth every penny. This stuff puts Cristal to shame." He said as the champagne went down very easy. "One really fun way to get drunk is to get drunk on really expensive stuff. I hope you got more than one bottle of this." He said as he finished his glass and poured another.

"I managed to get a hold of a case." Pepper told him as she sipped the champagne instead of downing it like her boss. "Go easy on that, Mr. Stark. You actually want to be able to walk tomorrow."

"I don't care if I can even stand tomorrow. After this deal, I earned myself a vacation day." Tony stated. "What would make this even more perfect is if I had something pretty to join me in the hot tub?" he said to Pepper, giving her a clear suggestion with his best begging look. "You know champagne, strawberries and a lot of fun."

"Though the offer is tempting, Mr. Stark, I am afraid I will have to decline this time." Pepper said with a smile.

"Fine," Tony sighed. "I'll be upstairs, finishing my celebration alone. Bring up the strawberries anyway. You can still change your mind. Let me know when you come up." Tony said as he grabbed the bottle of champagne, his glass and headed upstairs to the master bath and his hot tub.

Pepper inwardly groaned as Tony went upstairs. She cared about Tony but at times the man could truly be incorrigible. She had all this work to finish for him and he wanted to take a few laps around the hot tub. She finished off the glass of champagne and set her work aside that Tony had knocked over when he picked her up. She got the chocolate dipped strawberries that Tony had stashed and brought them upstairs.

By the time she had gotten upstairs; Tony had already gotten very comfortable in the hot tub and knocked off half the bottle of champagne. Pepper knew where she could walk and where she could look without blushing. She set the strawberries on the edge of the tub and turned to leave quickly.

"Sure you don't want to join me?" Tony said as he moved to Pepper's edge of the tub. 'This could relax you in about ten seconds.'

"I am certain, Tony." Pepper said, hoping his name would get through his head. "I actually have a lot to finish for you before tomorrow. If you need something, let me know. I will be downstairs."

Over the next hour, Pepper was called upstairs ten times for some of the stupidest things. Half of them were drunken jokes. One was for a bottle of scotch after Tony had finished off the champagne and the other four were more attempts to get her into the tub with him.

"Sometimes, I wish I could split into ten people to get everything done. This is like two full time jobs." Pepper mumbled as she left for the last time.

Tony had been only half paying attention when Pepper came in for the last time with his favorite scotch. He had a decent buzz going on and he was totally relaxed in the hot bubbles. But it was something she said that stuck in his mind and it snapped him to attention. His mind started throwing pictures at him that were a little jumbled in his drunkenness. Little birds started flying around and all of a sudden ten rocks knocked the birds down.

His mind started going a little quicker as he remembered the generals he had spoken to saying something about wanting to take out more than one target with one weapon.

An idea hit Tony square between the eyes and he just couldn't ignore it. It was brilliant. He jumped up from the hot tub and nearly fell on the floor as he tried to get out. He grabbed a towel and attempted to run down the stairs to his garage but it ended up more like an ungraceful stagger while he held himself upright on the railing.

Pepper had to take a double take when Tony went by her down to the garage. Was he only wearing a towel? "At least he remembered the towel." He thought to herself as her boss practically skidded down to his workspace.

"Jarvis? Pull up all the blue prints on our timed detonation missiles." Tony called out as his computers turned on.

"There are a total of fifty different designs, sir. Which ones would you like?"

"Ones that could possibly be modified for a two phase detonation system."

"That would bring the total down to five, sir. Are there other qualifications you are looking for?"

"Yes Jarvis. Show me the missiles that have a space large enough in them to hold something like metal barbs in it but small enough to not need a tank for."

Jarvis pulled up the specs for the missile requested.

Tony scanned the plans carefully since things were a little fuzzy. He would need to change the firing mechanism for a duel explosion and put a containment system for the barbs but it could be done. As Tony plotted out what was necessary to create what he envisioned, he realized that this had dollar signs written all over it. More bang for your buck and killed ten birds with one stone.


	16. Chapter 16

As the sounds of bad ballroom music droned in Tony's ears, he knew this could not be a good night. He leaned back in the chair he was sitting in, sipping from what was his fifth scotch at least, watching all the people network and socialize as they always did.

Pepper had forced him to come to this benefit since he had donated ten million to the cause and it was proper to make an appearance. Tony made his appearance but did not have to like it. He had dragged Pepper along with him so he had one friendly face there.

Tony was incredibly bored and it was clearly visible. Pepper was keeping an eye on her boss for most of the night. She only came to keep him out of trouble the best that she could. She watched Tony trace circles around the rim of his empty glass as he waited for the waitress to bring him another, number six. She watched his eyes scan the room, obviously looking for some sort of female companionship other than her own.

Tony was checking out what sort of chances he had for fun tonight. How many single girls were around for his conquest? Unfortunately, not many. Then he spotted one near the bar. She appeared to be as alone as he was, looking around the room for some guy that would never come. Tony picked up his glass and crossed the dance floor over to the bar where the girl was.

Pepper saw Tony move from his chair out of the corner of her eye and her head whipped around to follow where her boss was going. It took all of a millisecond to figure out…the tall, leggy blonde in the shortest black dress that you could imagine. She might as well just have had a sign on her saying 'I'm all yours, Tony.'

Pepper also recognized all of Tony's classic come ons as he approached the girl. He buys her a drink and flashes that charming smile. He flatters her until she's blushing and giggly. He then whispers in her ear about going someplace a little more comfortable. When she nods yes, he takes her to the nearest hotel room or his mansion. Given that the benefit was being held in a hotel, Pepper fully expected to see Tony disappear upstairs soon enough.

Just like clockwork, the dumb blond fell for Tony's charms hook, line and sinker and was soon following him out of the ballroom and into an elevator.

Pepper noted the time on her watch and figured she would have a few hours before having to eliminate said blonde. Then a behemoth in a tuxedo came through the door and walked right over to the spot at the bar that the blonde had just left. He started looking around the room for what was apparently HIS blonde. As his temper rose for being ditched, Pepper recognized him. He was one of the offensive tackles from the Raiders.

A sick feeling fell through Pepper's stomach. If this beast of a human caught Tony with his girlfriend, Tony may not live through the night. As a rule, Pepper NEVER interrupted Tony when he was with a girl. It goes back to the twins' incident and stuff she does not want to see. But this time, if she did not, Tony was going to get killed.

Pepper made sure that the animal wasn't watching her as she quietly ducked out of the ballroom. She went up to the front desk and made up some story about urgent business and her dire need to know what room Tony was in. It was good enough for the clerk to believe and he gave her the room number. Pepper thanked him and headed for the elevators.

As she stepped off the elevators on the sixth floor, she saw the blonde walking towards her alone. Her hair was more rumpled, her make up smudged but she had the stupidest grin on her face as she bounced by. She giggled a hello to Pepper before stepping on to the elevator. Pepper sprinted down the hall as fast as her heels would let her. She had to get Tony out of here before the football player found him.

Pepper knocked on the door and opened it before receiving an answer, catching Tony coming out of the bathroom in just his underwear.

"Pepper? If I had known you wanted to join me, I would not have brought the cheerleader up here." Tony slurred as he flopped down on the wrecked bed.

"We need to get you out of here, now." Pepper said with a deadly sense of urgency as she threw her boss' clothes at him.

"There's no need to rush. I paid for the whole night." Tony said with a very drunk laugh as he tried to pull Pepper on to the bed with him.

"Tony, will you try to focus here." Pepper pleaded. "That girl had a boyfriend and he's downstairs looking for her."

"What the hell does he have that I do not?' Tony mumbled as he struggled to get his shirt on.

"About seven inches and probably 150 pounds on you." Pepper spat out as she buttoned his shirt for him since he was totally incapable of getting his fingers to function.

"What is he? A football player?" Tony said as he pulled his pants on.

"Yes, an offensive tackle from the Raiders to be exact." Pepper confirmed. "This is why we have to leave now."

"Not before I get another drink from that open bar they had." Tony said as he pulled his jacket back on and staggered out of the room and back down to the benefit.

Pepper wanted to just drag Tony out to the limo to save him from himself at the moment. He had gone up to that hotel room looking impeccable as always. Now, he walked back into that benefit with his tie undone, his shirt messily tucked in and his shoes untied.

Tony strolled boldly up to the bar, right next to the football player and the blonde, who was now hanging all over the correct man, ordered another scotch and tipped the bartender a 100. He took a sip of his drink and then turned to the blonde.

"You were really great before…such athleticism." He told her.

"What did you just say?" the football player said as he turned on Tony and towered over him.

"You must be very proud to have such a nimble minx wrapped around you all the time. I must say I was for the hour or so that I got to enjoy her company." Tony said arrogantly as he stood toe to toe to this monster.

The football player's temper exploded and he shoved Tony hard, so hard that Tony staggered backwards and fell to the floor just outside the ballroom in the lobby. To his credit, Tony did get back up, not willing to be knocked down by anyone. The football player was coming out of the ballroom just as Tony was about to go for him again and landed a sharp right hook to Tony's face. Tony went down for a second time and still got back up. Tony tried to hit back but had a left jab hit him and knocked him down for a third time.

Pepper had run after Tony just as the fight started. She had to get him out of there NOW. By the time she had got to her boss, he was struggling to get up for the third time with a bloody nose that was running down his face and his shirt, a split lip and two black eyes. Pepper had just gotten close enough to grab Tony when flash bulbs went off in rapid succession.

The vultures swooped in for their share of the tabloid shot of the century.

Pepper grabbed Tony's hand and pulled him away from the football player and pushed him into the limo, ordering Happy to drive home as fast as he could. Once they were moving, Pepper could finally start taking care of Tony after the mess he had just made.

She grabbed a cloth napkin from the bar and shoved it into Tony's hand and then forced him to hold it against his nose to catch the blood. Once that was taken care of, Pepper could look over the rest of his battle wounds.

Tony winced and hissed in pain as Pepper's gentle hands touched his eyes and his lip. He cracked his eyes open to see all the blood that had gone down the front of his shirt and his stomach lurched. "Pepper, go easy. I am in enough pain." He whined.

"I am going easy, Mr. Stark." Pepper countered as she wet another napkin to clean the dried blood off of his face. "This would not have happened if you had listened to me in the first place instead of going for the last drink."

"Ok, so it wasn't my brightest move in history." Tony admitted. "But I came out of it."

"This isn't over yet." Pepper said as she sat next to him. "This will be all over the papers and news channels by morning."

Tony mumbled something under his breath but he wasn't as eloquent as he usually was. Pepper swore it was something along the lines of 'oh shit.'

The next morning, Pepper arrived at Tony's mansion earlier than usual. Tony was still sound asleep when she crept into his room. She put an ice pack over his eyes and the bridge of his nose, all of which were a nice shade of black now. She put his requisite three aspirins and orange and banana smoothie on his nightstand and ordered Jarvis to let him sleep as long as he wished. Pepper knew Tony would be in some serious pain from the fight and the hangover and if he was comfortable in bed, he would be out of her hair for even just a little while as she went into crisis control.

Across the country at the same moment, Obadiah Stane stood in front of the Board of Directors of Stark Industries and slapped down a copy of the _New York Times _on the table. There, right on the front page, was Tony's picture, drunk and in the middle of a fight with someone from the NFL.

"Do we really want this as the image of our company?" Stane bellowed. "This is out of control."

"He may be wild, Obadiah, but he has more than tripled the worth of this company's stock since he became CEO. It is his own image he tarnishes. It is his name."

"There has to be something that can be done about him. I have said this many times, Tony was never a good decision for succeeding Howard." Obadiah countered, knowing that he would have been a far better successor.

"Good decision or not, it was not our decision. Howard stated it in his will and thus it is unable to be argued."

"All of us together should be able to counteract Tony." Obadiah insisted, trying to build his own case and his own army.

"There are very limited options for removing Tony and most many of us would not like to act on, especially since we are doing so well."

"What are the options?" Obadiah asked a little too eagerly.

The Board members did not seem to want to hear this and one by one, they walked out. All but one.

"The options are as follows. Tony could opt to sell his shares and leave on his own, which we know will not happen after he had tasted such rich success. Or, in the event that Tony dies without stating a successor in his will, his shares will be divided among us all and the most senior member and majority stock holder would become CEO."

Obadiah nodded and slowly slipped out of the Board room. He had some arrangements to make.


	17. Chapter 17

The fight and the unwelcome news coverage that went along with it had almost perfect timing for Obadiah. With Tony not coming into work to hide the inevitable terrible bruising that comes from getting your ass kicked by a football player, it gave Obadiah the perfect opportunity to slip away.

Obadiah had a very long flight to work out what he needed to do. If Tony died without naming a successor in his will, which he doubted that Tony has even considered at his age, his shares would be divided up among the Board members by seniority. A big enough percentage of Tony's shares would make Obadiah the majority holder and therefore, Tony's successor.

Obadiah had looked through some of the old manifests from the Eighties when they were supplying the covert operations in Afghanistan with Congressman Wilson. He found a pattern that emerged even after Stark Industries had stopped working with the Congressman. Many high grade missiles, small arms, automatic weapons and rockets were either stolen from the American military there or purchased indirectly through third parties. They all seemed to end up in the same place, the epicenter of Hell. Obadiah figured if he was going to deal with the Devil himself, then he figured he should praise the gods that he was an iron monger and pass the ammunition.

This sick concoction of Obadiah's mind had so many parts that most generals would be confused by it. First, gain the favor of the devil and get the devil on his side. Gifts will most likely be needed. Second, keep forging that new bond with Tony. Obadiah reasoned that he had to be harsh with Tony when he was younger to make him strong and now that he was older, it was time to show some confidence in the boy. Tony made Stark Industries billions and had very good ideas with technology which he could manipulate to his whim. Tony needed to be played delicately, like a Stradivarius. Obadiah knew if he tried to bully Tony, Tony exploded like the missiles he created except he was more destructive. Third, set the wheels in motion and cover all the tracks before the final step…assuming control of Stark Industries,

If all the pieces fell into place as they were supposed to, this would be the greatest corporate take over in history. Obadiah smiled as he thought of the moment the name on the side of the building would be changed.

Once the plane hit the landing strip, Obadiah was ushered into a waiting caravan to take him to his desired location. It had cost a king's ransom to get this audience so to speak but Obadiah was more than willing to pay it after waiting eighteen years.

The caravan passed through many worn torn villages. Homeless and desolate people almost ran up to the expensive vehicles looking for help and relief from their desperate situation. Obadiah never even gave them a first look much less a second.

The caravan pulled up to a city of tents just outside a massive cavern of caves. Obadiah stepped out of the SUV with his security and surveyed what he was dealing with. He saw many armed peasants, some of which were barely more than children while others were clearly veteran soldiers of desert warfare. Obadiah was rather impressed with the stockpile of Stark Industries weaponry they had amassed. Some of it was brand new and some had dated back to before the Cold War ended. This could be easier than he thought.

"I want to speak to the one in charge here." Obadiah said in clear Persian without flinching as the guns were pointed in his direction. "I have a business proposition."

A subordinate of some sorts nodded and waved them into the central tent where a tall, heavy built bald man greeted him.

"Obadiah Stane, it is a pleasure to welcome you." Raza said as he offered Obadiah a seat. "Your money may have bought you the time so far but you will have to do more."

Obadiah only sat after his host did. "You and I both have the same desire…ultimate power. We both want to rule our worlds. I have a proposition for you which may be able to benefit us both."

"You and I are not the same and you presume too much if you think we are." Raza corrected him. "But I will hear your proposition."

Obadiah stood up and started pacing the room as if he was addressing stockholders rather than a heavily armed militant. "As I drove up, I noticed that you had a great deal of weaponry from my company but some of it is quite dated. How would you like to have the newest and best Stark weapons and enough to financing your cause for some time?"

Raza seemed interested. "Whoever holds the weapons manufactured by Stark Industries rules the world... and soon, it will be my turn. How would you make this possible and what is in it for you?"

"I would supply you with the weapons first hand in exchange for one favor. Give me what I ask for and I assure you will never need to steal those weapons again."

"What do you want, Stane?"

"Just one roadblock eliminated. I need one person captured and killed and you will have your arsenal."

"Does this mark have a name? When will we see him and how will we know him?"

"The name is not important. I will arrange things on my end and let you know when you will see him. You will know him instantly because he will stick out like a sore thumb here. He's not hard to miss."

"A killing costs more than just weapons. What else do you offer us in exchange for the head of this person?"

Obadiah grabbed a piece of paper from a nearby computer and wrote a figure down and handed it to Raza without saying a word.

Raza looked at the number and nodded. "We will hear from you soon as to when this will happen. A pleasure doing business with you, Obadiah Stane."

"Likewise. We will be in touch." Obadiah stated before exiting the tent and climbing back into his SUV to head back to the plane to continue with his plan.


	18. Chapter 18

Lieutenant Colonel James Rhodes was just clearing off the last bit of paperwork off of his desk for the weekend when one last envelope was quickly set in his inbox. He opened it right away since it was marked urgent. Inside was an orders detail.

_**26 September to 30 September 2007 – Afghanistan**_

_**Stark Industries Weapons Demonstration – JERICHO Missile**_

_**Presence is required for aid in demonstration if necessary and protection.**_

Rhodey reread the orders twice to make sure he was reading them correctly – a weapons demonstration in a live action zone. Something had to be wrong with this. He quickly grabbed his coat and drove to Stark Industries to ask Tony what was up with this.

Upon arriving Stark Industries, Rhodey placed a quick call to Pepper so he could pin down Tony as fast as possible.

"Where is he, Pepper?"

"He's down in Manufacturing watching the final assembly of the missile he's demonstrating next week. Is there something wrong?"

"Most definitely yes." Rhodey said as he hung up and walked quickly through the maze that was Tony's factory. The massive cranes and robots going at full speed production mode made a great deal of noise. It didn't take Rhodey long to spot a man in a t-shirt and jeans with a backwards Yankees hat on watching the assembly line while all others around it were buzzing like bees in what be described as more protective clothes.

"Hey Tony! Can I talk to you for a moment?" Rhodey called out above the din.

"Yeah sure. What is it?" Tony replied as he never took his eyes off the machinery.

"You're demoing the JERICHO next week?"

"That would be correct. I want to sell a bunch of these babies before Christmas."

"Why in hell are you showing it in Afghanistan?"

"It needs to be shown in the area that it will be used."

"Fine, pick another desert – New Mexico, Arizona, Vegas. We're going to be in Vegas anyway for the Apogee Award that you are receiving."

Tony finally turned. "I am not testing this in New Mexico. One Stark already staked a claim on that one," he stated in a serious tone before his gaze shifted back to the assembly line. "It has more of an impact when they can see what it would do in action."

"In a live war zone?"

"That's where it would be going, correct?"

For Rhodey, this was going nowhere fast. "Fine, if it has to be in a live action zone, why do you have to demonstrate it? Isn't it just a little dangerous, Tony? Why can't you send someone else?"

"I have been told that things like this require my presentation skills to have a proper show. Other people just don't have the same charm that I do."

"Can't you do it by video feed?"

"Now you know that doesn't have the same effect. People pay for the show and they will pay through the nose for it. There is a reason why people spend hundreds of dollars on theatre and sporting events." Tony commented.

"Aren't you even the least bit nervous about this?"

"Of course I am. I don't like the idea of bullets buzzing near my head. Once was enough as it was. There was a reason why I called the Department of Defense personally and requested that you be sent along. I feel better when I have you watching my back," Tony explained as the JERICHO was rolled off the assembly line and Tony pulled out a screwdriver from his back pocket to make some final adjustments.

"Tony, I get paid to go into zones like this. It's my job and I knew that when I signed up for it. You don't need to do this." Rhodey persisted.

"And I get paid to make all the toys that you take into that zone. I get paid to make stuff to keep you and all your khaki and camouflage clad buddies alive. All you have to do is keep my ass alive and looking good in front of the brass." Tony countered. "I am doing my job here, just like you."

"There is no way for me to change your mind on this?" Rhodey said in a nearly defeated tone.

"It wasn't my decision to make anyway," Tony admitted as he checked every nut and bolt on the missile. "The Board is more or less making me since they know my track record with huge deals and this is the centerpiece of the Freedom Line. I have finally resigned myself to doing this at all."

"Then do me a favor at least, wear that magic body armor you designed. It will help make my job easier." Rhodey insisted.

"I'm not crazy or stupid, Rhodey." Tony stated. "I would have to be four bottles in the bag to even think I have balls enough to go without that. I value my existence, thank you."

"I am glad to hear that. I will see you at Caesar's Palace next week then. Make sure you show up this time." Rhodey said as he said goodbye and headed out.

Obadiah had been watching the missile assembly from a higher vantage point of the factory, letting Tony do the dirty work so to speak. When Lt. Col. Rhodes came in trying to convince Tony not to go to Afghanistan, it was almost poetry in motion. After Rhodes left, Obadiah silently left his bird's eye view of the Manufacturing floor and pulled out his cell phone.

"Your mark will be there next week. Make sure he never comes home."


	19. Chapter 19

"Mr. Stark…you are already three hours late. Colonel Rhodes was very insistent that you need to be on time." Pepper cried out for the third time into the garage where Tony and Happy were having a battle of the cars – which one to take?

"Sir, taking the Rolls would make more sense so your Audi is not sitting in the parking lot while you are away." Happy stated as he loaded Tony's luggage into the trunk.

"Yeah but my Audi is a lot cooler and will get me there faster since Rhodey is about to have puppies."

"Why not take both?" Happy suggested.

Tony smirked and grabbed his keys and pulled his jacket on. "Race you to the airstrip." He told Happy. "I'll even give you a head start since you'll need it."

Happy sighed but grabbed the keys and pulled the car out and drove away.

"Mr. Stark…you really need to be going," Pepper insisted once again as Tony stopped in front of her with a small smile on his face.

Tony leaned in and gave Pepper a small kiss on the cheek before walking towards his Audi. "I'll see you in a few days. Have the champagne ready for when I get back because we'll have some celebrating to do."

"Promise you'll behave over there and come back when you said?" Pepper questioned as Tony slipped behind the wheel and started the car.

"I promise." Tony stated before peeling out of the garage at full speed to catch up to and surpass Happy.

As Pepper watched the car go away, he hand absently touched her cheek where Tony had kissed her and something didn't feel right. It was like she was saying goodbye for a lot longer than a few days.

Finito

A/N: I would like to thank all my reviewers for all their support with a story I had a lot of fun writing and did not want to see end. Fear not, Chances still continues and I have another multi-chapter fic swimming around in my mind.


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